Memory Lane
by HeyMrsPotter
Summary: Much to Hermione's annoyance, she finds herself working with Draco. A cruel trick by their boss leaves them being pulled into each other's pasts. What will they see there and how will it affect their future?
1. Chapter 1

The alarm clock on the bedside table rang shrilly. A small hand groped around until settling on the button that would silence it and pressed down. A groan came from the large bed, and an array of brown bushy hair could be seen coming from a head which was currently buried underneath a squashy duvet along with the body attached to it. A few seconds later, Hermione Granger pulled herself out of bed cursing her secretary for keeping her in the pub so late, and the inventor of Monday mornings.

She felt slightly more human after a shower, and a strong cup of coffee which she drank whilst reading the Daily Prophet. The paper bearing the news of the Wizarding World was far less interesting now, five years after the war and the defeat of Voldemort.

For a while after it was filled with idle gossip about 'The Golden Trio', as they had been dubbed: who they were dating, where they were shopping and other mundane details about their lives. Now, however, even that wasn't particularly interesting any more. Especially since two of the three had now settled down.

Harry and Ginny had gotten back together quickly after the war. They were now married and blissfully happy expecting their first child. Ron and Hermione stayed together for six months after their first kiss in the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts. In that time, she returned to Hogwarts and he had begun intense Auror training at the ministry along with Harry. Their relationship hadn't survived the combination of long distance, stress and the huge grief they had suffered, and so they had agreed to end it. Ron was now engaged to a girl he met through his job: a fellow Auror by the name of Juliette. Hermione thought she was perfect for Ron; she was funny, a fantastic cook and able to keep him under control with a stern glare, not unlike Mrs. Weasley's.

That left Hermione: the only one who was still living alone and single. She had been on plenty of dates since her split with Ron and had even spent a year in a relationship with a Muggle, Tim. Things were going perfectly until she finally told him she was a witch and he completely panicked. He went as far as threatening to expose her. The Ministry of Magic had gotten involved and had to modify Tim's memory. It was awful.

Hermione didn't mind being single; it meant she could immerse herself completely in her work and her flat was exactly how she liked it, cosy and packed with bookshelves loaded with both Muggle and magical books. She also found that nobody cared if she didn't get home until early hours of the morning, exactly what had happened the night before.

After a disastrous date on Saturday night, her secretary, Lucy, a young enthusiastic girl who had left Hogwarts a year previously, suggested that the two of them go for a few quiet drinks the following night. Hermione had agreed, she needed to vent to someone about her awful date, but told Lucy that it would be a couple of drinks and absolutely no more than that. Though Hermione had relaxed a little since leaving school she was still sensible for the most part and certainly wasn't the type of young woman who went out a lot and got drunk. She much preferred curling up on the sofa with the occasional glass of wine. Lucy was the complete opposite and, unfortunately for Hermione, she was a bad influence and very persuasive. The last thing Hermione remembered was Lucy bumping into two of her male classmates from Hogwarts in the Leaky Cauldron and convincing them to buy the two girls' a bottle of firewhiskey. It had been all downhill from there.

Hermione begrudgingly travelled to work via the fireplace in her living room, which was connected to the floo network, and took her directly to the Ministry. Attempting to ignore the fresh wave of nausea that hit her as she had stepped out of the grate she took the lift to the fifth floor, where the International Law Department offices were based, and entered her own. It was a simple square shaped room and most of the space was taken up by two desks; one opposite the door which belonged to Hermione and one to the left which was slightly smaller and occupied by Lucy. Hermione glared at the young blonde as she past her assistant's desk and sat down at her own.

"Oh, don't give me that face," Lucy said, "I felt how you look when I woke up this morning. Brilliant night though!"

"Oh yes, I absolutely love having no recollection of getting home, and this hangover is just amazing. How come you look so cheery then?" Hermione responded in a tone laced with sarcasm.

Lucy laughed and threw a bottle over to Hermione, who failed miserably to catch it. She picked it up off her desk and read the label: 'Alvin's Alcohol Antidote'.

She raised an eyebrow. "Does this actually work?"

"I feel pretty good, and I've arranged to go out with the girls from Goblin Liaison tonight." She winked.

Hermione took that as a yes. She opened the bottle and drank the bright blue potion inside. It made her feel queasy for a moment and then a refreshing feeling washed over her as though she'd been back to bed for eight hours.

"Better?" Lucy asked.

"Much."

"Brilliant, coming out tonight then?"

"Absolutely not." Hermione replied. I'm really not a big drinker, despite my actions last night. I just needed to let off some steam. That date..." She shook her head at the memory of it.

"Yeah, I did warn you that those Herbologists are a bit loopy. Yours sounds nuttier than squirrel poo though. Anyway, enough of that. Have you heard there's a new member of staff starting today? Doing the same job as you, he's taking over from that bloke that just retired-"

Hermione interrupted. "Finkle? They've replaced him? No-one said. I do hope they've hired someone more competent this time. I'll be working with them after all."

"I didn't catch his name I just saw him going into the Minister's office this morning and overheard Kingsley telling him he would be working with you." Then Lucy added as an afterthought, "he's got a nice bum."

Hermione laughed. "I guess that makes him perfectly qualified in your eyes then! I really do hope he's good. I've worked so hard this last year and it would be nice to have someone capable to help. Three international wizarding schools are now accepting Muggle-borns. It's only a matter of time before they all do. I won't have anyone holding me back."

"Relax, Hermione. Wizards in Britain are so much more tolerant of Muggle-borns now. Mostly thanks to you and your part in the war, you have nothing to worry about. Oh" -Lucy strained her neck to see the corridor beyond the open office door- "-here he comes, and don't worry his face is as nice as his bum!"

Kingsley Shacklebolt entered Hermione's office. "Good morning ladies, I'd like to introduce you to the latest member of your team, though I believe you already know him, Hermione."

A blonde haired figure entered the small office behind Kingsley who began to introduce him. "This is-"

"MALFOY?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was on her feet now, with both hands placed on her desk and her eyes fixed on the two men standing in the doorway. Malfoy looked exactly as he had during their days at Hogwarts, with only a few slight differences. The last time Hermione had seen him he was thin and ghostly pale: stress from the war taking effect on his physical appearance. Now, he was taller and had filled out from what Hermione could make out of his body from under his black robes. His skin, though still fairly pale, was definitely more tanned and the difference was emphasised by his unchanged platinum blonde hair.

"Yes, _Granger_," Malfoy retorted before turning to the Minister. "I warned you she'd react this way."

"React what way?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "As though I've just been introduced to my new co-worker who treat me like rubbish the entire time we were in school? Sorry I'm not doing backflips."

"Miss Granger, I suggest that you learn to let go of school grudges. Mister Malfoy will be working with you whether you agree or not. Remember this is a workplace not a playground. Good day."

The Minister left the small office leaving Hermione feeling very small. She had dropped her usually professional attitude, with Malfoy already bringing out a side of herself that she disliked. Still, she couldn't help but be annoyed by his presence, and she wasn't going to let it slide.

"Come on then Malfoy, the Minister has gone so why don't you tell me what you're really doing here? Heard about my campaign and decide you want to sabotage it? Ban all Muggle-borns from magical schools?"

"No, actually, as much as I dislike you Granger, I agree with what you've been doing. I want to help. I've been to a lot of the countries you're still trying to reach out to and think I could convince their Ministries."

Hermione let out a humourless laugh. "Oh, of course you agree! Of course you want to help! I've never heard so much rubbish in my life, Malfoy. Just get out of my office and stay out of my way."

Draco shrugged and left the office without another word. Hermione sat back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh. Anger was coursing through her, with disbelief accompanying it. She had heard nothing of Malfoy since Voldemort died; not even a whisper. She had thought about him increasingly in the last year, she couldn't start a campaign that helped combat Muggle-born prejudice without thinking of that which had been directed at her by Malfoy, among others. Never once, however, had she wondered where he was or what he was doing, and now he was working with her. She would have to see him every week day; speak to him and co-operate with him. She groaned and put her head in her arms on the desk.

"So...the bum, we don't like him?" Lucy finally spoke after watching Hermione for several minutes.

"No," came her muffled reply.

"Can I ask why?"

"No."

Hermione left the office on her lunch break, tiring of the suffocating feeling her office now had after Malfoy had been in it. She walked around in Muggle London gathering her thoughts. On return to the Ministry, Hermione headed straight to the room in which her boss, Jarvis Duggen, was based and knocked sharply on the door.

"Come in!" said a deep voice from behind it. Hermione entered. "Ah! There's my best worker. I have a feeling I know why you're here. Draco Malfoy, I presume?"

"Yes, sir. I just-_we_ just don't get along. See he was awful to me in school and I know it was a long time ago but arrogant leopards don't change their spots."

"Pardon?"

"Sorry, it's a Muggle phrase. Well, the bit about the spots not the arrogant part," Hermione shook her head; she was rambling. "Anyway, I really don't think we'll be able to work together. He isn't exactly a fan of Muggle-borns, and I'm worried he'll try to sabotage my work."

"I understand your concerns, Hermione, really I do, but I interviewed Draco myself. He's very interested in the work you've done so far and eager to help you. He has good international contacts and excellent references. I couldn't _not_ hire him."

"But..." Hermione wracked her brain for an argument against her boss' perfectly logical reasoning. "You do know who his parents were, don't you? He and his family were Death Eaters for goodness sake. They led the campaign against Muggle-borns. Surely that's enough reason for you to not employ him?"

"I admit it did make me hesitant, and I did ask him about it. Let me ask you something: do you know where he's been for the last five years?"

"Of course not," Hermione scoffed.

"Let me enlighten you then. After the war, Draco left the country. His father went to Azkaban and he hasn't seen nor spoken to him since. His mother lives alone, she was excused for her involvement with the Death Eaters after she lied to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named about Harry Potter. Draco went travelling. He's spent time in almost every country in Europe and more. After finding out what you have been doing for the wizarding schools abroad, he came back determined to help. He told me that his time travelling taught him how wrong the prejudices he had been raised to accept were, and wants to earn forgiveness for his actions."

Hermione stared at her boss open-mouthed. She couldn't seem to process the information just yet, and so thanked her boss for his time before leaving his office and deciding to go home for the rest of the day. She grabbed her bag and said goodbye to Lucy before heading into the lift.

"Hey Hermione!" a voice said as the golden doors of the lift opened, Hermione looked up to see Harry smiling at her.

"Harry, hi, how are you?"

"Obviously better than you, what's up?" Harry asked seeing her distracted expression.

"Oh, the usual. Came in to work this morning with a hangover and find out Draco Malfoy is my new colleague..."

"You're joking?!" Harry exclaimed loudly, making several people in the lift jump. "I haven't seen or heard anything about him since his trial. Where's he been? Why is he here? Is he staying?"

"Calm down, I'll explain it all later this isn't the right place," Hermione replied, glancing around.

"You're right. Tell me everything later at dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, Ginny invited you last week. Ron and Juliette are coming too, remember?"

Realisation dawned. "Of course, sorry Harry, it's been one of those days. I'll see you around six?"

Harry confirmed and stepped out of the lift on the second floor. Hermione travelled down one more and rushed to the fireplaces in the entrance. She couldn't wait to get home.

After a long soak in the bath, Hermione felt a little more relaxed though still was not in the mood to be sociable. She forced herself to get ready for Harry and Ron's sake though, since they had begun to follow their separate career paths after the war they had seen less and less of each other; more so now that Harry was married and Ron engaged. She often missed spending time with just the two of them, though they did have an agreement where they went for dinner once a month and it was always something Hermione looked forward to.

She arrived at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Harry and Ginny's home, a few hours later. The house was unrecognisable now: it was a much brighter and more homely place after countless hours of further cleaning and then decorating. The picture of Sirius' mother still remained in the hallway and was as unpleasant as ever should guests be too noisy upon their arrival. Sirius' room was the only one that Harry had left unchanged; partly for sentimental reasons and partly because he had used a permanent sticking charm on almost everything in it. The rest of the house was now much more modern and colourful. As it turned out Ginny had quite the eye for interior decorating and she had made the house feel like a home.

Hermione tiptoed through the hall and into the kitchen where she found Ron and Juliette already there. Juliette was inch-for-inch as tall as Ron but slim built, she had piercing green eyes and, like the Weasley's, her hair was red though a much deeper shade than her fiancé's.

That night at dinner, Ginny served a delicious meal of sausages and mashed potatoes and they all ate huge portions as Hermione explained to the group the events of the day; including the details she had learned of Malfoy's whereabouts for the past five years.

"That git," Ron had said simply, with a mouthful of potato.

"Agreed," said Harry. "What we need to find out is why he's really here. Do you think he's going to try and mess up your work Hermione?"

Hermione sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. Fifteen year-old me would say yes, but I know I should be more professional, we're adults now."

"Yeah but I bet he's still a slimy arrogant pri-" Ron began, but was elbowed in the ribs by Juliette, "ow! Prat! I was going to say prat!"

"Well, guess there's only one way to find out," Ginny said sitting back in her chair and resting her hands lovingly on her swelling stomach, "you're going to have to work with him unfortunately."

Hermione groaned and sank into her chair. She hated to admit it, but Ginny was right. Starting tomorrow she would be working with Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione woke the next morning as reluctant to get out of bed as she had been the previous day though thankfully she was hangover-free. She had set her alarm earlier than usual; determined to get to the office early and catch up on the work she hadn't finished yesterday.

The Ministry was blissfully quiet when she arrived: there was no-one to fall over in the fireplace, no waiting for the lift, and no interdepartmental memos whizzing around her head when she got into it. She was whistling happily as she entered her office and it wasn't until she shut the door behind her and turned to face her desk that she realised someone was sitting there, with their feet up on it.

"Morning Granger," Malfoy smirked at her, "have a lie in this morning did we?"

"Shut up Malfoy, and get your feet off my work. What do you want?"

Malfoy very slowly and very deliberately lifted one foot and placed it on top of the other, so that his legs were crossed and remained on Hermione's desk. "I came to talk to you about what your next move is for international tolerance for Muggle-borns. I know you've already worked with schools in France, Italy and Greece, so where next? I've got good contacts with the Zauber Institute, that's Germany-"

"Yes, thank you. I know where Zauber is, I'm already in contact with their Headmaster who isn't budging. He said the school has been open for centuries and a Muggle-born has never crossed the threshold and they don't intend to change that."

"Right. Well have you spoken to other members of staff? Their Ministry? You could get a petition enough wizards and witches sign it then their Wizengamot, Leutchten they're called over there, they have to at least consider changing the law."

Hermione crossed the room and was now standing next to Malfoy. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him. "Firstly, my seat, out of it, now."

Surprisingly, he vacated her chair, and she immediately sat in it before he could change his mind. "Secondly," she continued as he perched himself on the edge of the desk, crumpling more parchment, "why do you even care? Honestly, this international tolerance is my area, my project. Why must you be involved in it? You want to work at the Ministry? Fine. You want to work in International Law? Fine. But please, tell me, why does it have to be on my task?"

"I have my reasons Granger, not that they are any of your business. You should just be happy that I'm here to help you, obviously you need it," he smirked at her again.

Hermione wished she could wipe the look off his face, permanently.

"And how, exactly, have you come to that conclusion?" she asked whilst tugging at the piece of parchment under his backside, wondering what Lucy would say if she knew Hermione's hands had been that close to the rear end she had admired the day before.

"Well, you can't even get Zauber to agree. How on earth will you manage the others? Durmstrang especially, they're all for purebloods."

"For your information, Malfoy-"

Malfoy didn't get to hear Hermione's retort, for at that moment, Duggen entered the room. His large body only just fitting through the doorframe, not only was he a tall man, he was also very wide. Hermione would have put his waist size down to being part-giant like Hagrid had she not seen the large lunches his wife packed him every day.

"Good morning troops!" he said in his deep, booming voice.

"What's good about it?" Hermione muttered under her breath.

"What was that Granger?" Duggen asked.

"I said good morning, Sir."

"All set for today? Malfoy was just telling me about his plans to help you with Zauber and then Durmstrang. He's got some good ideas."

"Oh yes, brilliant ones. I'm sure soon enough he'll be running this project single-handedly and before we know it all of the magical schools will be Purebloods only!" Hermione's voice began to rise.

"Actually, Granger. That's not my intention at all, at least not the Pureblood part. I reckon I could handle this on my own though."

"I knew it! I knew there was a reason you were here. Just come to take my job have you? You sleazy, horrible-"

"Hermione, Draco, that is enough!" Duggen was on the verge of shouting. His round face was turning red in anger. "Must I remind you both that this is a place of work? The Minister for Magic has informed me that he has already warned you both about childish behaviour. Don't let this happen again please. Now, we have a meeting straight after lunch, I would like the pair of you to update me on your plans for Zauber, and remember: play nicely."

He turned and squeezed back through the doorway, his auburn hair brushing the top of the frame, leaving it sticking up.

Draco turned to face Hermione grinning smugly. "Come on then, partner. Let's get to work."

Hermione groaned loudly but waved her wand conjuring a chair at her desk for Malfoy.

Much to Hermione's surprise, the morning went by fairly quickly. She and Malfoy discussed the work she had already done and she reluctantly showed him copies of her correspondence with Zauber's Headmaster. He told her what he had learned of their Ministry during his time there and together they made an action plan to present to Duggen in the afternoon.

All in all the morning would have been a success if it hadn't been for Malfoy's smirk, sarcasm and general criticising of Hermione's work. He chastised her for not writing her letters in German, for not writing directly to their Minister for Magic and repeatedly expressed his surprise that she had managed to convince three schools to change their policies on Muggle-borns.

When the time for their lunch break arrived, Hermione grabbed her bag and was out of the office before Malfoy had risen from his seat. She headed directly to Harry's office and, thankfully, found him alone.

"Hey, Hermione, how's it going?"

"Terrible," Hermione replied, plonking herself down in a seat opposite Harry.

"Of course, today was your first day with Malfoy. Is he as unbearable as always?"

"Worse. There's just something not right about this whole situation and I'm determined to find out what it is."

She proceeded to tell Harry about the argument she'd had with Malfoy in front of Duggen and their upcoming meeting. They spent the remainder of Hermione's lunch break reminiscing about times in school they had embarrassed or annoyed Draco, and both of them had tears in their eyes when Harry brought up Malfoy as a ferret. By the time she had to leave for her meeting, Hermione was feeling much better.

The meeting itself was fairly straightforward. Duggen was pleased with the progress Hermione and Malfoy had made in such a short time, and told them he thought they already made an excellent team.

"I agree, Granger definitely couldn't work as well without me," Malfoy replied.

"Oh shut up, ferret," Hermione retorted scathingly.

Duggen gave a heavy sigh which told them both that he was getting angry. They took it as their cue to leave and exited the office whispering insults to each other.

Hermione was able to spend the remainder of the day free of Malfoy. He had been very cryptic about what he was going to be doing for the rest of the afternoon but Hermione couldn't have cared less. She was just glad to be rid of him and busied herself writing to the German minister.

His whereabouts did not remain unknown for long, however. As Hermione was tidying her desk, preparing to head home, Harry peered his head around her door.

"Good, you're still here. Can I come in?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"You'll never guess who came to my office today asking for my help," Harry said, closing the door behind him.

"Who?" Hermione asked curiously, not expecting the answer Harry was about to give.

"Malfoy."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Oh for goodness sake, why on earth would he want your help? It's not like you would do it."

"Actually," Harry said, "I am."

"What?! Why?! This is the same Draco Malfoy we're talking about, isn't it?"

"Yes, and as much as I hate to participate in anything that involves speaking to him, he's actually thought of a good idea."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Go on..."

"Well, he wants to raise money for Hogwarts. Specifically for Muggle-borns. He wants to pay for a group of wizards who will each be assigned to a Muggle-born who has just been given their letter. The idea is that they'll go with their assigned pupil and their family to Diagon Alley and spend some time with them explaining the wizarding world, Hogwarts, and answering any questions they or their family might have. I was lucky enough to have Hagrid do that for me but it's not a luxury the school can afford for everyone. At the minute, as you well know, Muggle-borns are given their letter with instructions to get to Diagon Alley and that's it. Malfoy wants to hold a yearly charity Quidditch match for Ministry employees, all ticket money for the match goes towards the school so they can pay for the assigned witches and wizards. He wants me to be captain of one of the teams and we're both to recruit six players and train with them. You have to admit, it's a brilliant idea."

Hermione stared blankly at Harry; trying to absorb the new information. Now, not only was Draco trying to change the laws to benefit Muggle-borns, he was also helping to introduce them to magic, not to mention using Harry to help him. It was too much to process.

"And this doesn't strike you as odd? Need I remind you of the many times he called me Mudblood? Now you're telling me he's all for them being at Hogwarts?"

Harry sighed. "I know it's hard to believe, Hermione, but even if this plan of his will somehow benefit him, it's still a good idea. Besides, I'm not going to turn down the opportunity to beat him at Quidditch again, am I?"

"I guess not. Just keep a close eye on him please Harry."

Harry nodded and the two left the office together. Hermione spoke to Harry only to say goodbye as they reached the fireplaces that would take her home; her mind elsewhere. She knew that Harry was more than capable of looking after himself, but she couldn't help but worry for her friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Several weeks after Malfoy had begun working at the Ministry, Hermione still wasn't finding it any easier to work with him. She found him irritating. His sarcasm was endless and he was always sucking up to the senior members of staff, but of course they loved him for it. It was bad enough that he was interfering in her work but now, to make matters worse, he was constantly around Harry.

The pair had thrown themselves into planning the charity Quidditch match; both having chosen their teams and were now training hard as well as finding a venue, selling tickets, and spreading the news about what the money was for. Every time Hermione needed to speak with Draco about work, he was either in Harry's office or in his own writing an interdepartmental memo to him. The straw that broke the camel's back finally came when Hermione walked into Draco's office one morning to find him and Harry sharing a joke and laughing together. Neither of them looked up when she entered the office, so she slammed the door behind her.

"Oh. Er, hi Hermione," Harry said awkwardly.

"Harry," Hermione replied curtly, "can I tear Draco away from you for a minute please?"

Harry nodded and clapped Draco on the back before leaving the office, Hermione glaring at him as he walked past her. Malfoy cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"How can I help, Granger?"

"I just wanted to let you know that our petition from Germany just arrived. It seems your teacher friend has quite a few contacts over there. There are over a thousand signatures on here."

"Brilliant," said Draco, smiling broadly, "I knew Lukas wouldn't let me down. That's more than enough to make the Leutchten listen. I'll write to them now and send the petition with it." He stretched his hand out to take the parchment Hermione was holding.

"Actually," Hermione said, tightening her hold on the petition, "I've already started writing it, so I'll send it, and you can go back to organising your little game with Harry."

"Granger, I get that you're not happy that me and Potter are on speaking terms now but let's not forget that the 'little game' is for an excellent cause, one which you should understand. Don't let your jealousy get in the way of our work. It would be better if I wrote the letter as I speak fluent German not unlike the recipient of the letter."

"Then I'll have it translated," Hermione said, "but it will come from me."

"You're being ridiculous, just give me the petition." Draco once again reached for the parchment.

"No," Hermione told him through gritted teeth. She turned to leave the office, not noticing Draco reaching into his robes. Just as she stepped out into the corridor, Draco pointed his wand at her.

"Accio petition!" He caught the paper that flew at him, closed and locked the door before Hermione had even reacted.

As soon as she realised what Draco had done, she began banging on his office door. "Draco Malfoy you open this door, right now! Give me that petition back! You can't stay in there forever you-"

"Hermione!" Duggen's head appeared from around his own office next door, a confused expression on his face. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

"Sorry, sir. It's just Malfoy, you see he-" she stammered, but Duggen interrupted.

"Get in here and sit down." Duggen watched Hermione take a seat in front of his desk before leaving the room. She heard him banging on Malfoy's door and then he returned a few minutes later, with Malfoy following him into the room.

"Sit," Duggen said, pointing at the seat next to Hermione's. Draco sat down.

"This is the last time I will say this. The pair of you had better find some way to get on or you will quickly find yourselves replaced. I cannot and will not have this level of unprofessionalism in my department. I don't care what has just been going on that would prompt you, Draco, to lock yourself in your office, or you, Hermione, to bang on the door whilst screaming like a banshee. I don't have the time to hear either of your tales. I've got a meeting with an unspeakable that is, frankly, more important. So, I'll leave you with this: if you can't fix this between yourselves, mark my words, I will." He then dismissed the pair who left without another word.

Hermione decided that it would be best to ignore Malfoy for the rest of the day to allow herself some time to calm down. She was ashamed of her behavior. She had been childish and unprofessional; not at all the image she had been presenting for the last five years. She hated that she had let Malfoy get under her skin and made her revert to her teenage self, but she seemed to have no control over herself when he wound her up.

After a good night sleep that night, Hermione woke the next day with a new determination to not let Malfoy get to her, and to work with him the best she could. Her theory was: if she didn't get annoyed he would stop trying to annoy her. So when she arrived at work that morning, she headed straight to Malfoy's office, planning to ask him to write their letter to the Leutchten together.

To her dismay, she found Duggen already in there, a serious expression on his face.

"Hermione, you're here, excellent. I need you and Draco to take a break from whatever you were planning on doing this morning and head down to the Department of Mysteries for me. I was chatting with an Unspeakable yesterday, a good friend of mine named Ernie Portree. I mentioned the work you had been doing and he told me he knows a chap on the Leutchten who may be able to help you, said to send you down there to speak with him this morning."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Malfoy. "I think we'll have Zauber accepting Muggle-borns by next year!"

Hermione couldn't help but agree. "I think you're right, this is a huge help. Where is your friend's office Mr Duggen?"

"Department of Mysteries," he replied. "When you enter, as soon as you close the door behind you, the room spins."

Hermione nodded her head. "I know, I went there in school. How will we know which door is his room?"

"He said his will be the door at the three o clock position. When you get in the room there will be another door, in the middle of the room. You'll find him through there. No need to knock; he's expecting you."

He bid the pair farewell and they left the room. Hermione led the way remembering the route well. She felt a sense of unease at going back to the department of mysteries; she had almost died the last time she was there; Sirius had died. She waited for Draco to enter the circular room filled with the twelve doors and then took a deep breath before closing the door behind him. She closed her eyes, not wanting to experience the dizziness that always came each time the doors moved around, she could hear Malfoy's sharp intake of breath and then heard him say '_woah_' and presumed the doors had stopped.

She opened her eyes and headed to the door to her right where the number three would be on a clock, and pushed it open. The room behind it was unfamiliar. It was dark and had a strong sense of the unknown which greatly unsettled Hermione; she liked familiar. There were a dozen or so candles providing the only source of light in the room and Hermione could only just make out a door in the centre. She paused to see if her eyes would adjust to the darkness, but did not warn Malfoy who walked straight into the back of her.

"Come on, Granger. What are you waiting for?" he said, nudging her toward the door.

"It's dark. I'm just trying to see the room better."

"What is there to see? There's the door, open it," he said simply.

"That door looks like it's in the middle of the room though, the only thing beyond that door is the rest of the room..." she drifted off, trying to peer around it but failing to see anything. She didn't trust this room, or the entire department for that matter. "Do you feel like someone is watching us?" She said suddenly.

"No," Draco replied simply. "Now come on, brave Gryffindor. Open up, let's go and see this Portree."

Hermione shook her head trying to rid herself of the uneasy feelings, and groped in front of her for the doorknob. She found her target, pushed the heavy door open, and stepped through. Malfoy followed suit. What happened next was something neither of them expected.

A bright light blinded them both. Hermione quickly squeezed her eyes tightly shut, and put her hands over them for good measure. She slowly released them, introducing light to her retinas gradually, and finally gaped at the scene before her.

It was a bright, sunny day and she was standing outside on a large grassy area. Six large teenage boys were standing in front of her wearing Slytherin team Quidditch robes and holding brooms. One of them also held a small piece of parchment and was speaking.

"-owing to the need to train their new seeker."

A new voice from came from behind and made Hermione jump. She spun around, noticing that Draco was standing next to her as she did so.

"You've got a new seeker? Where?" The new speaker was Oliver Wood, also wearing Quidditch robes and holding a broom. Hermione's eyes, however, were now drawn to a figure behind Oliver; a figure whose face bore a shocked expression and then spoke. It was Fred Weasley.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?"

Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from Fred. She had once struggled to tell the difference between him and George but now there was no mistaking the face she had not seen in over five years. She paid no attention to the scene that continued to unfold around her and it wasn't until Malfoy grabbed her arm so hard it hurt that she looked away from Fred.

"Ow! What the-" Hermione began, but Malfoy merely pointed behind her.

Hermione turned and was met with another confusing scene. Twelve year old Draco Malfoy was standing before her looking extremely smug.

"That's me...how?" the Malfoy next to her stuttered.

"A memory maybe? This is the day you got on the Quidditch team, I remember because that was the same day Ron-" she whipped head around and then stepped back from the two groups of Quidditch players,

"-ate slugs. There look, it's Ron and well, me. We're heading over now."

Sure enough, second year Ron and Hermione were now approaching the scene. Ron was demanding to know why the Slytherins, more specifically Malfoy, were there.

"It has to be a memory. They haven't acknowledged us; they can't see or hear us. Oh no..." Hermione quickly realised what was about to happen, the reason Ron had cast the spell that would backfire.

Young Malfoy was speaking. "No-one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

The players and Ron quickly broke into a scuffle, Hermione fixed her eyes on them furiously avoiding Malfoy's eyes that she could feel were on her. Unfortunately for her, Harry, Ron, and her younger self were now walking past in the direction of Hagrid's and the Gryffindor team were retreating into the castle. This left Hermione watching the Slytherin team still doubled over with laughter at Ron's misfortune.

She glanced to her left and was surprised to find herself alone. She whipped her head around looking for Malfoy, but he was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if he had found a way out of the memory without her and inwardly cursed him. Young Malfoy quickly distracted her from her anger, however. He had managed to straighten himself up and was now wiping the tears from his eyes.

"That will teach the Weasel," he said. "How dare he try to curse me! Father always said the Weasley's were a disgrace to wizards, obviously he's no different. Why bother risking cursing himself over that Mudblood? I'd say he fancied her but have you seen that bushy hair and those teeth?" This was met with more laughter from his teammates as they mounted their brooms and kicked off the ground to begin their practice. Hermione felt sick with disgust.

"Granger?" A voice from behind made Hermione turn around. It was Malfoy.

"Where have you been?" she scolded. "I thought you'd managed to get out of here!"

"No, I wish," he replied shaking his head. "I followed you, well, younger you, to Hagrid's. Your face, when he told you what Mud-that word, meant. You looked so-"

"Save it, Malfoy. Let's just work out how we get out of here," Hermione interrupted him.

As the pair looked at their surroundings, searching for a clue that would help them leave, Hermione felt a pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; it was like she had touched a portkey. Before she had the chance to ask Malfoy if he felt it too, she was pulled from the spot and the scene before her changed dramatically. Hermione found herself in the last place she would have wanted to be.

She and Malfoy were in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Here's chapter 5, I hope you enjoy it :) please leave me reviews, good/bad/other :D **

"No...no, this isn't right," Hermione looked around frantically. "We shouldn't be here. We should be back. Oh God, anywhere but here," she looked at Malfoy. "Why are we here?"

"How should I know?" he snapped.

"This is your house, your _awful_ house," her eyes were now transfixed on the floor, in the middle of the room. The small patch of wood that held so many memories, ones that had haunted Hermione long after the war had finished. She didn't want to be there re-living them.

"Just because it's my house doesn't mean I-" Malfoy paused. "Shhh, listen, do you hear that?" He pressed his finger to his lips.

Voices were approaching, footsteps too. Hermione and Draco turned their heads to the source; it was coming from behind them. The large oak doors swung open suddenly and three very familiar people entered the room.

"So, darling," Narcissa Malfoy was talking to a very young looking Draco, "are you more excited for starting at Hogwarts now that we've got all of your school things?"

"Of course he is," Lucius spoke before Malfoy had a chance to form an answer. He ushered his son further into the room and sat him down at the edge of a deep red chaise longue. He stood over Malfoy, a stern expression on his face. "Now, we need to speak about your friends at school. I can't have you associating with riff raff; mudbloods, blood traitors and the like. Of course you already know Pansy, Blaise and Theo, they're perfectly acceptable to be seen with. Weasley's are absolutely out of bounds, Arthur Weasley might as well be a muggle, no doubt his children will be the same. Anyone else you need to speak with me about, understand?"

Hermione stared at Lucius in disgust; how could he possibly dictate who his son could and couldn't be friends with? Malfoy grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"We're not watching this. Come on," he tried to pull her toward the door his younger self had just entered.

Lucius was now speaking to his son about the staff at Hogwarts. Intrigued, Hermione tugged her arm out of Draco's grasp and continued to watch and listen.

"Of course Severus is a good friend of this family, and he will be your head of house so make sure you stay on his good side. He'll look after you though, he always does look after the superior house," Lucius laughed a cold, humourless laugh. "Dumbledore is a crackpot; a fool and a muggle-lover. Nevertheless you don't want to upset him, for some reason the wizarding world kisses the ground he walks on. Not to mention he has good contacts in the Ministry."

"I know, father, I know. You've told me a hundred times," young Malfoy replied miserably, eyes on the floor. Hermione couldn't help but be shocked at the child standing before her; he was so different to the Draco Malfoy she knew at that age. He was arrogant, self-assured and over-confident. The boy she could see now was scared and timid. Hermione felt incredibly unsettled but she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Less of your cheek boy," Lucius scolded. "You'll listen to me a hundred times more if that's what it takes to sink in. Now, one last thing before you get out of my sight: Potter. He'll be starting school with you. I want you to speak with him, get close to him if you must. I want to know how he was able to defeat the Dark Lord at such an age. It is vital that I find out. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father."

"Good, now leave your mother and I in peace. Leave your bags, I'll have Dobby bring them up, once he's done shutting his ears in the oven door," he laughed again.

"Oh, I can't listen to this anymore," Hermione turned to find Malfoy, to demand he help her find a way out, but once more found herself alone.

Eleven year old Malfoy walked past her and headed to the door he had entered not long ago. Hermione decided following him rather than staying in the drawing room with Lucius was the lesser of two evils so set off behind him.

He led her up a grand staircase, dark oak banisters with deep red carpet. If it didn't belong to the Malfoy's Hermione would have thought it beautiful. Portraits lined the walls up the stairs, Hermione glanced at some of the names; they seemed to all be deceased members of the Malfoy family.

At the top of the stairs, she followed Malfoy down a long corridor, decorated with suits of armour, more pictures and various weaponry on the walls. About a third of the way down the hall he went into a room on the left hand side. Not sure if she would be able to open the door once Malfoy closed it behind him, Hermione had to dart forward and enter alongside.

"Oh, brilliant," an unexpected voice made Hermione jump. Malfoy was sitting on a large four-poster bed in the centre of the room, he got up just as his younger self sat down mere inches from where he had just been. The sheets, along with most of the decor in the room, were bottle green. The Slytherin house logo was painted on one of the walls and many of the books on the shelf were about the founder of the house and his part in history.

"Thanks for leaving me," Hermione said to Malfoy indignantly.

"I wanted to leave, you wouldn't come with me," he replied simply.

"Oh, well that's mature. We're both stuck in whatever this is so we both need to stick together and figure how on earth we get out of it."

"Look, Granger," said Malfoy, "I don't disagree. I want to get out of this just as much as you, but I'm not going to sit there and watch me being a prat and watch my father being a tyrant. That isn't my life anymore."

A smart retort on the tip of Hermione's tongue was interrupted by the all too familiar pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach. One look at Malfoy told her that he was experiencing it too; both of his hands were on his abdomen. The bedroom scene dissolved and Hermione closed her eyes, scared of finding out where they were this time.

A voice spoke . "Ah. Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy I presume?"

Hermione opened her eyes. They were standing in the department of mysteries once more, in the same room, though this time it was much better lit. The voice had come from a rather short man who was standing before them. He had pale skin, dark hair and was wearing a rather eccentric set of purple robes.

"My name is Ernie Portree, I'm an unspeakable. Tell me, how was your trip?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Trip?" Hermione said incredulously. "Did we enjoy our _trip_?! Was that your idea of a joke?"

"Actually, Miss Granger, it was Jarvis who asked for my help with the pair of you. Said you've been causing quite an atmosphere in his department and wondered if I knew any way to fix it," Portree said with a smile that was causing Hermione to become increasingly angry.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Malfoy finally spoke. "And this is what you came up with? These are people's feelings you're messing with!"

Hermione couldn't help but let out a laugh at this, Malfoy glared at her.

"Sorry," she said, stifling another laugh, "it's just, well, Draco Malfoy talking about feelings? It's not something I'm used to hearing that's all," She turned back to Portree. "Not that he isn't absolutely right. That wasn't exactly fun for me. The entire magical world knows what happened to me in that house, what on earth makes you think I would want to go back there?"

"I have no idea which house you're talking about, Hermione. I don't have any control over where or when the portal takes you to. Each experience is unique to the person, or in your case, people, who enter it. As for your feelings Draco, that is the purpose of the portal, it thrives on feelings. Where it sends you depends on your feelings at the time, or towards the person you enter it with," Portree continued to smile at the pair, who in turn looked at him utterly perplexed.

"Well, my feelings now are I'm pleased it's over," said Malfoy, walking past Portree and towards the door.

"Yours and Hermione's journey is far from over, Draco. There is still much to be seen, I believe," Portree said simply before disappearing into the darkness beyond the portal. Hermione shouted for him a few times but no answer came.

"What did that mean, 'your journey is far from over?' We're back now, that's it," She said, whilst heading to the doorway Malfoy was standing in.

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I just want to get back to my office, I've got far too much to do without worrying about stupid cryptic messages from unspeakables."

They left the room together and it took four attempts of opening random doors before they finally managed to find the one that lead to the dark corridor that would take them to the lifts. Once back on their department floor, each returned to their respective offices and spoke no more of their bizarre encounter.

***  
The charity Quidditch match took place a few weeks after Hermione and Malfoy's trip in the Department of Mysteries. Much to Hermione's delight, Harry's team thrashed Draco's. Hundreds of people bought tickets and Hermione was pleased to see many of them were old classmates of hers, who proudly sang 'Weasley is our King' each time Ron saved a goal for Harry's team. Juliette, who was an excellent chaser, took to conducting the crowd's singing from her broom in between scoring goals. Surprisingly, Draco took his defeat very well, and gave a speech at the after party congratulating Harry and thanking him for helping to raise money for such a good cause.

Hermione hadn't spoke to anyone about what happened with Draco; not even Harry and Ron. She didn't want to have to re-live the moments again, it had been a long time since someone had called her a Mudblood and the first memory had brought back feelings of inadequacy she was desperately trying to fight. She had earned her title of Witch long ago, proved herself in every test magic could throw at her. It didn't matter that her parents weren't magical, she was and that was that. Or at least that's what she was telling the small voice in the back of her head.

What troubled her more, if possible, was the second memory. Not just because she returned to the room in which she was tortured, but because the more she thought about it, the more she felt sorry for the young boy in it. She didn't think of it as Draco Malfoy, her enemy from school and current source of annoyance at work. No, she simply saw a small boy who couldn't be excited about starting school at the most exciting and magical place in the world because his father wouldn't allow it. Instead, his head was filled with prejudices; who he could and couldn't associate with. The feelings of empathy for the pale, blonde-haired boy just wouldn't go away, it unnerved Hermione.

On returning to her office after their experience through the portal, it was Hermione's intentions to yell at her boss at the first opportunity. Luckily, he was out of the office most of the morning, giving Hermione a chance to calm down. She eventually concluded that it would be best not to give him the satisfaction of mentioning his childish plan and should he ask, she would deny all knowledge. However, no questions were asked by Jarvis and the subject wasn't spoken about by her or Malfoy. Hermione assumed that he wanted to forget about it as much as she did.

Unfortunately for both of them, Pertree was right and their experience was far from over. Hermione found this out just a few days after the Quidditch match. It was a Friday and she had not long finished work and been home. She was going out for dinner with Lucy in an hour, so had just tied her hair up and gotten in the shower to freshen up. Just as the warm water hit her body, Hermione felt something that was both unwelcome and extremely inconvenient; the now all-too-familiar pulling sensation in her stomach.

"No!" she gasped, and quickly turned to climb out of the shower and grab the dressing gown on the back of the door. The scene changed too quickly, and much to Hermione's dismay, her fluffy white dressing gown hung on the back of her bathroom door disappeared just beyond her outstretched hand. Glancing frantically around the room, not taking in the surroundings but looking for something she could cover herself up with, Hermione spotted an open wardrobe and grabbed something pink out of it and wrapped it around her. No longer panicking about her naked state, she acknowledged where she was for the first time.

She was in a bedroom. Her bedroom to be precise, though not the one in her flat. This was her childhood bedroom. Judging by the books on the shelf and the missing Gryffindor scarf that should have been pinned to the wall above her bed, this was from her younger days; before Hogwarts. The floor was covered in a soft cream carpet and walls were lilac, a floral border ran along the middle. A single bed, wardrobe and bookshelf were the only items of furniture; it was small but cosy.

"Nice outfit Granger," a voice from behind drawled making Hermione jump.

"Malfoy!" she said his name like an expletive.

"In the flesh," he smirked, "or should I say clothes. Which is more than can be said for you..."

His eyes scanned the length of her body and Hermione looked down, realising what she had covered herself up with. It was a pink dressing gown with white love hearts on, and it was the perfect size for a ten year old. It was only just covering her bum, her legs; still dripping wet, were completely exposed. The sleeves came just past her elbows and it barely closed, showing more of her chest than she ever would. Her face reddened and she grasped at the material, willing it to be longer.

Draco laughed, "I think you've grown out of that, maybe it's time for a new one?"

"Oh, shut up," Hermione snapped. "I was in the shower when I was dragged here, I didn't exactly have time to get dressed again."

"Where exactly is here?" Draco asked her, looking around the room with one eyebrow raised.

"This is my bedroom, at my parents' house."

The door opened and a young girl with wild curly hair entered. She was grinning broadly, emphasising her large front teeth. In her hands were several bags of different colour and size, Hermione recognised both the girl and the bags immediately.

"It's me..." she whispered.

"Obviously, how many other people do you know with hair like that?" Draco responded.

Hermione shot him an angry look but her gaze quickly returned to the younger version of herself, who had now placed the bags on the floor and was carefully pulling the items from inside them out and lining them up on her bed. Black school robes, more books than were on the school list, a cauldron and finally a long, thin maroon coloured box. The last item was not placed on the bed, but held tightly in her hands as she sat down. Slowly and carefully, she pulled the wooden stick from inside it and lay it across her palms, examining it closely.

Tears were now forming in Hermione's eyes as she watched her ten year old self; she knew the thoughts that were running through the girls mind, remembering them as though it was yesterday that she was thinking them.

"Are you _crying_? That comment about your hair was just a joke you know," Malfoy was looking at Hermione incredulously.

"No," she replied, wiping the tears way furiously, "and if I was it wouldn't be because of my hair."

"Right. So what would it be then?"

Hermione snorted. "Like you would understand."

"Try me," he said simply.

"It's just, I was so excited. After all the strange things that had happened to me, the children in my class thought I was a freak; part of me agreed with them. Getting my letter, it made it all make sense. I had no idea how it would all turn out; I was so naive."

"What do you mean, 'how it would all turn out'?"

Hermione sighed. "Well, I got to Hogwarts and was still different to everyone, wasn't I? Hermione Granger: the Muggle-born. Not to mention what should have been my final year at Hogwarts ended up as a year on the run and a war..."

Malfoy shifted uncomfortably. "It, er, wasn't all bad though was it? You went back and did your seventh year. And look at you now! Hot-shot ministry worker, changing the wizarding world one school at a time!"

"I guess so...It's not that I'm not proud of myself; I am. I just wish I could warn her," she looked back at the girl on the bed, now reading one of her new textbooks.

Malfoy, not sure how to respond, changed the subject. "So this is after your trip to Diagon Alley then?"

"Yes, I'd been given my Hogwarts letter the week before. Mum and dad took the day off work to take me, they loved it."

"Who was it that delivered your letter?" Draco asked.

"McGonagall. Wait, how did you know it was hand delivered?"

"McGonagall," he replied with a smile. "I spoke to her before I started to organise the Quidditch game. She told me that the teachers visit any Muggle-born children and explain what is in their letter and how to get to Diagon Alley. She also said that she wished they had the time to be able to go with them but they're too busy preparing for the new school year; that's how I came up with the idea for the charity."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You know, I still don't understand why you're doing all of this. Acting like you're every Muggle-born's best friend."

"It's not an act, Granger. I want to help. I have my reasons, not that they're any of your business."

A voice shouting from downstairs distracted them both from the retort Hermione was about to give. "Hermione, darling? Dinner's ready!"

Hermione immediately recognised the voice as her mothers. She watched herself place a bookmark in the page she had been reading, put the book down on her bed and leave the room. She was then jerked away from the scene and found herself once more in her bathroom, the dressing gown she had been wearing was gone, as was Malfoy, much to her relief.

A quick glance at her watch which was on the windowsill told her that no time had passed since she was last here, thankfully meaning she wouldn't be late for meeting Lucy.

She climbed back into the still-running shower and became lost in her own thoughts. Obviously this was what Pertree meant when he said their journey was far from over. As she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, Hermione groaned at the realisation that she would probably be spending more time in her past with Malfoy.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione walked into the busy Italian restaurant and scanned the room looking for Lucy. She found her at a table near the back, waving frantically to gain Hermione's attention. Chuckling, Hermione headed to the table and sat opposite her friend.

"I ordered us a bottle of wine already, before you had the chance to say no," she said with a grin.

"Who's saying no?" Hermione replied, picking up the bottle and pouring herself a large glass.

"Oh dear, what's happened now? Let me guess: The Bum?" Lucy's nickname for Malfoy had stuck, much to Hermione's annoyance.

A young and overly-nice waitress approached their table and the two women ordered their meals. As soon as she left, Lucy prompted Hermione to continue their conversation.

"So, you were saying, it's The Bum isn't it?"

"Yes, actually. _Malfoy _and I," she emphasised his surname, "have a bit of an...issue."

"Oooh, it's 'Malfoy and I' now is it?" Lucy winked. "Please, do tell!"

Hermione sighed. The situation with Malfoy was confusing and stressful, working with him was bad enough but their little trips down memory lane were making things much worse. She hadn't wanted to tell anyone what was happening due to Duggen's trick, but now she wasn't sure if she could keep it to herself a moment longer. She took a large drink of her wine, set down her glass and began to explain everything. Once she started, it was like the flood gates had opened. She told Lucy about each memory, her feeling sorry for young Draco, her frustration with him and her annoyance that he and Harry were practically friends.

"Wow," Lucy stared at Hermione open-mouthed.

"Yep."

"That's...wow."

"Yep."

"So, what, you just keep getting sent off to random memories with each other?" Lucy asked.

"Pretty much," Hermione replied.

"Why though?"

"Jarvis' clever plan apparently. I think it's supposed to make us learn to get along. It's doing the complete opposite though, you should have heard him in the last one. As if my being half-naked wasn't bad enough, he had to-"

"You were half-naked in front of him?!" Lucy shouted, interrupting Hermione and gaining the attention of several nearby diners.

"Keep it down will you?" Hermione hissed. "Yes, I was in the shower when I was pulled away, luckily I managed to cover up before Malfoy got there, but only barely. It was mortifying."

"You never know, maybe next time you'll get lucky and he'll be pulled out of the shower," Lucy said with a wink and a giggle. Even Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

Their food arrived, ending their conversation there. Hermione ate in silence, feeling slightly better knowing she had someone to talk to about her odd situation. She would eventually tell Ron and Harry but for now, Lucy's views were exactly what she needed; lighthearted and amusing; something to help her get through more inevitable trips with Malfoy.

By the time Hermione arrived back at her flat several hours and three bottles of wine later, she was feeling a great sense of relief. Whether this was down to the wine or the freedom of finally telling someone of her predicament, Hermione did not know; nor did she care. She did, however, resolve to be more accepting of the situation. The logical side of her knew that the less she fought against it, the more likely it would be over with quicker.

The following morning, Hermione enjoyed a rare lie-in, she slept better than she had in a long time. She took her coffee and toast over to the sofa; she was planning on watching mindless television with her feet up. Her plans were interrupted however, by Ron's head appearing in her fireplace.

"Hey, Hermione! Are you busy? We need you to come over."

"No, I'm not busy. I'll have to shower and change though. Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, concerned; Ron never usually flooed in unannounced.

"Yeah, everything is great, see you in a bit," his head disappeared with a mysterious grin.

Curious, Hermione quickly showers and dressed. Admittedly, all of her showers were quick since the unfortunate timing of the last memory, but this one was due to her eagerness to find out the reason for Ron's invitation.

She threw the green powder into her fireplace and stepped in whilst shouting Ron and Juliette's address. On exiting, Hermione noticed that Harry and Ginny were also there, sitting on the sofa.

"Hello you two," she said, pleasantly surprised.

"Hi," said Harry, standing up to greet Hermione with a hug, "I see we're not the only ones who received a last minute invite."

"Apparently not, any idea why we're here? Or where Ron is?" Hermione looked around but there was no sign of Ron or Juliette.

She turned her attention to Ginny. "Look at the size of you now! I'm sure that bump has doubled in size since I last saw you..."

"That was only last week!" Ginny replied indignantly. "You're right though, I'm starting to lose sight of my toes now. Only three months to go."

"Ah! You're all here, brilliant," Ron's voice came from the door that lead to the kitchen. Juliette followed him into the room carrying a tray of four glasses of champagne and a glass of orange juice.

"Champagne?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we're celebrating," Juliette replied coyly. She put the tray down on the coffee table and handed out the glasses.

"Celebrating what?" Ginny asked, accepting her glass of juice.

Juliette stood next to Ron in front of the group and took his hand in hers. He looked at her, smiling, and nodded.

"Ron and I have finally booked a date for the wedding! February twentieth next year!" she squealed excitedly.

There was a flourish of hugs and congratulating before Ron settled the group down again by telling them there was more to say.

Juliette spoke again, to Ginny and Hermione. "So, you know I don't have any sisters? Well I was wondering if you two would like to be my bridesmaids?"

"I'd be honoured, Juliette!" Hermione exclaimed, hugging her once more.

"And me!" Ginny said, rising from her seat with a little help from Harry.

The three girls hugged and immediately Juliette began telling them her plans for colour schemes.

Ron shook his head and then turned to Harry.

"Best man?" he asked simply.

"Of course!" Harry replied.

"Cheers. We, er, don't have to hug do we mate?"

"Nah," Harry said grinning.

Hermione, Harry and Ginny ended up staying for lunch which gave Juliette the chance to show the girls the folder she had started to put together with ideas for the wedding.

Though she gave the impression of a tomboy; an avid Quidditch fan and an appetite that even rivalled Ron's, when it came to her wedding Juliette was a typical woman. She knew exactly what she wanted down to the last centrepiece. She, Hermione and Ginny agreed to wait until Ginny had the baby before they went shopping for their bridesmaid dresses but would be going to find Juliette's gown the following month. Hermione said she would help out as much as Juliette needed, knowing full well how little Ron would. Ron acted offended but ultimately agreed with Hermione and then gave her strict instructions to choose dress robes that were the complete opposite to those he wore at the Yule Ball.

By the time Hermione returned to work on Monday she was in a particularly good mood. Even the appearance of Malfoy in her office as soon as she sat at her desk couldn't dampen her spirits.

"Good morning," she chirped.

"Sorry I was looking for Granger, is she here? You might know her; grumpy, usually throws things at me when I come in here, huge hair?" Malfoy smirked at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Ha-ha very funny. I told you, the ink pot slipped out of my hand and just happened to hit you. And my hair is not huge," she smoothed it down subconsciously.

"You're right, it's at least half the size it was in last weeks memory," he winked.

Hermione stared at him blankly, it was the first time outside of the memories that either of them had spoken about them. He seemed to realise this too as he quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, it's a lucky you're in a good mood; I've got a favour to ask you."

"Go on..." Hermione said sceptically.

"Well, you know me and Potter arranged the Quidditch match to fund accompanied visits to Diagon Alley for Muggle-borns?"

Hermione nodded and he continued. "McGonagall has owled me asking if I'll do one of the visits, the Prophet want to cover it. She said it'll be good publicity to help fund it next year too."

"That's a great idea! So where does the favour from me come in?"

"Well, I was just thinking about that memory...of you. And I wondered if maybe you would-only if you want to I mean, maybe you would come with me? After all, you'll know better how the girl and her parents are feeling and-" he was rambling now, Hermione held a hand up and he stopped talking abruptly.

"Yes, I'll come and help you out."

"It's not that I need help," Malfoy said straightening himself up, "I could do it alone. I just think it would be better for the kid you know?"

"Oh, absolutely," Hermione grinned.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "Well, I'd better get back to work. We've got that meeting with Durmstrang's Headmaster next week, I want to prepare for it; he's going to be tough to convince," and with that he left Hermione's office.

The door swung open seconds after, Hermione didn't look up from the parchment she was reading.

"What is it now, Draco?"

"Ooh, 'Draco'? Do I sense thawing in the frosty relationship?" Lucy's voice made Hermione look up.

"Don't be ridiculous. He's just been here asking for a favour, I thought it was him coming back in."

"Is the favour to lick butterbeer foam from his delectable top lip? If so, I'll do it!"

Hermione laughed and shook her head but said no more on the situation much to the disappointment of her young assistant.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione woke early on the morning of her trip to Diagon Alley, nervous excitement building. She was looking forward to meeting the young girl and her parents and excited to help someone who was in the same position as she had been twelve years ago. She did have some nerves though, mostly about Malfoy being around Muggles. She still remembered the looks he and his father gave her own parents in Flourish and Blotts the day Lockheart had been signing books. She told herself firmly that this was his idea; his charity and his plan to meet the girl. Was is possible that he had grown out of his prejudices? Maybe. Hermione was simply hoping that in the five years he had been away that he had at least learned to keep them to himself. She didn't want to spend the day walking on eggshells; afraid of Malfoy insulting the family.

She showered and dressed with enough time remaining for breakfast and two large cups of coffee; setting her up for the day.

She was to meet Malfoy and the family outside the Muggle street entrance of the Leaky Cauldron at eleven o clock. Draco had briefly met the family after McGonagall had confirmed that he would be the one to accompany them on their shopping trip, so they knew who to look out for on the day.

At ten minutes to eleven, Hermione apparated into the pub then walked outside into the warm sunshine. It was nearing the end of August but still warm enough outside for her to wear her favourite blue sundress.

She soon spotted Malfoy walking down the street towards her. She had to do a double-take initially as she assumed he would be apparating like she had, but their was no mistaking the platinum blonde hair that shone brightly in the sunlight.

"You walked?" she asked him as he reached her.

"Don't sound so surprised. I only live ten minutes from here and it's a nice day," he appraised her outfit. "Not that you haven't noticed; I see your legs are making a guest appearance today. I have to say they look better in that dress than the fluffy dressing gown."

"Oh would you stop with that already? You know what it's like with those stupid memories, they take you at any time, from any place."

"Well, let's hope they don't choose now, our guest have arrived," he pointed at a family now approaching, the woman was waving at Draco.

"Hello again," he said as they reached the entrance of the run-down pub. "I'd like to introduce Hermione Granger, a work colleague of mine who has agreed to accompany us today."

Hermione jumped a little at Malfoy using her first name but greeted the family politely.

"Hermione, this is John and Hazel Summers and their daughter, and future Hogwarts student, Jane," he gestured to each family member in turn.

John was a tall, bald-headed man with a friendly face. His wife was almost half his size, her head topped with mousy-brown, poker-straight hair, reached well below his shoulders. Their daughter seemed to have inherited bits from both parents; her hair was the same shade of brown and she was tall for her age, a shy but friendly smile on her face.

"Hello," said Hermione, reciprocating their smiles, "it's lovely to meet you all. Tell me Jane, are you excited to go shopping for your school things?"

Jane nodded enthusiastically prompting Draco to open the door to the Leaky Cauldron and gestured inside. John and Hazel looked skeptical as though they were still wondering if this whole thing was a practical joke, Jane looked scared but curious. The group passed straight through the quiet bar and into the brick courtyard out the back, all thankful to be back in the sunlight.

Draco took out his wand and tapped the brick that revealed the large archway that opened up to Diagon Alley. Three audible gasps were heard from behind and Hermione smiled kindly at the family.

"Amazing isn't it?" she said, and they nodded fervently. "Gringotts first?" she asked Malfoy.

He agreed and they walked to the Wizarding bank. Upon her arrival, the Goblins of Gringotts glared at her, suspicion and accusation in their eyes. They still hadn't forgotten the hole she blew into the floor over five years ago, though she, Ron and Harry had long since apologised and helped to repair the damage.

They helped to convert John and Hazel's Muggle money into Galleons, Sickles and Knuts and left the bank quickly.

"Are they always that...mean?" Hazel asked, glancing back at the goblins in the doorway who were watching to make sure Hermione really had left.

"Not _that_ mean, and not to everyone..." Hermione said uncomfortably.

"Yeah, they're only like that when people steal their dragons and fly them out of the bank taking half of the building with them," Malfoy said, smirking at Hermione who was now glaring at him.

"Dragons?!" Jane squeaked.

"Ignore him, Jane," Hermione said before quickly changing the subject. "Right, take a look at that list Jane, what do we need?"

Jane reached into the small pink bag that hung at her waist and pulled out an envelope that was very familiar to Hermione and Draco. The parchment inside was crumpled, Hermione guessed that the girl had read and re-read the letter many times, reassuring herself that it was real.

"Um, it says I need my uniform, there's a list of books, a cauldron, some phials, scales, a telescope and a wand," she said, glancing around at the surrounding shops.

"Let's do uniform first, Madam Malkin's is just there," Hermione pointed to a shop on her left and the group headed over to it.

In less than an hour, they had managed to buy Jane's robes, potion equipment and telescopes. They decided that was a good time to stop for a bite to eat and a rest. Hermione suggested Cleo's Cafe, a quaint coffee shop that was formerly Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour.

Once their food arrived, Hermione decided it would be an opportune moment to see how Jane was feeling about Hogwarts.

"So, Jane. Are you excited to start school?"

"I think so. I'm still not sure this is all real. It feels like a dream, you know?"

"I do. And trust me, it's all very real. Is there anything you'd like me and Ma-Draco to explain about school or magic?" she glanced sideways to see if Malfoy had noticed her slip-up; his smirk suggested he had.

"I just want to know everything!" Jane gushed. "What's it like, Hogwarts? Where will I sleep? Will I have to do maths?"

Hermione chuckled. "Hogwarts is...magical, that's the only way to describe it. You'll see when you get there. You sleep in a dormitory with other girls your age. There are four houses, like teams, and each has a common room where you can relax or do homework and dormitories to sleep in. They're called Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. And no, there's no maths," she smiled kindly.

"Wow...which house were you two in? How do they decide who goes where?"

"I was in Slytherin," Malfoy began, "and Hermione was in Gryffindor. They have a way of sorting you, I won't spoil it but don't worry, you don't have to do a test or anything."

Jane visibly relaxed and continued to ask questions, mostly about the lessons she would be attending. She seemed particularly interested in Quidditch and delighted in explaining football to Draco after she told him she was on the school team and he had no idea what football was.

After lunch, they headed to Hermione's favourite shop in Diagon Alley: Flourish and Blotts. Malfoy told her he would help Jane, leaving Hermione free to browse the shelves and she ended up leaving with more books than Jane did.

Hermione and Draco had deliberately left the best until last; buying Jane's wand. Ollivander's was opened once more fairly soon after the war. Ollivander spent a few years training an apprentice he had hand-picked; Corbin Finkle now ran the shop alone though Ollivander was often seen in the shop ensuring it was being ran effectively.

On their arrival, there was already another family in the shop. His parents sat on two rickety chairs by the window, watching as he was handed one wand at a time to try out.

"This is getting boring," the boy moaned, "can't I just pick one and be done with it. I want to go and look at the brooms."

"Sorry, lad. It's not up to you to choose a wand; it has to choose you. Try this one," Corbin said, handing him another wand.

"Don't worry love," the boys mother said. "It took me about twenty goes before I found the right one!"

Three wands later, the red sparks flew, money was exchanged and the boy dragged his parents out of the shop. Jane, who was now very quiet, stepped forward when summoned by Corbin. It took only four attempts to find her the right wand; maple and unicorn hair, ten inches. John handed over eleven sickles and they left the shop.

"Is everything alright love?" John asked his daughter once they were outside. "I thought the wand was what you were most excited about, didn't it feel right? We can go back and swap it if you like?"

"No, Dad, the wand is fine...it's perfect. I was just wondering..." she looked at Hermione as though she wanted to ask her something.

"What is it Jane?" Hermione asked her.

"Well, that boy in there. His mum and Dad were magic too. Will they all be like him? The kids in my year? Or will there be others like me, with normal mums and dads?"

"Of course there will. I was just like you Jane. My parents are dentists, not magical in the slightest." Hermione replied.

"Did it matter? That your parents weren't magic?"

Hermione's heart sank at Jane's question. Did it matter? Not so much now, but it certainly did when she was at school. And it mattered a lot to the man standing next to her. She looked at Draco, and saw sadness in his eyes. He looked away from her, to Jane.

"No. It doesn't matter at all. A few years ago, some people thought it was important. Some people thought that you shouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts or to be a witch or wizard if your parents weren't. Then along came Hermione, determined to change the world," he grinned at Hermione. "She helped to get rid of the man who really believed in all of that, and all of his followers. She made people realise that you can come from parents like yours and still become the brightest witch of your age. Now she's not just changed the minds of people here, but doing it in other countries too. So no, Jane, it won't matter. And if anyone tells you it does, then tell them you know Hermione Granger and she proves it doesn't."

Jane beamed at him and began talking animatedly once more to her parents about all of the things she would soon be learning to do with her magic wand. Hermione quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek whilst Draco wasn't looking.

"We had better be off now," Hazel said, "we've got a train to catch. Thank you both so much for today, it's been an amazing, albeit surreal day. And thank you for all of the help and advice you've given us. I'm sure Jane feels much less nervous about starting school now."

They all bid farewell, Draco remembering before they left to instruct them how to get on to the platform on September first. Jane promised to write to both him and Hermione to let them know how her first week went and which house she was sorted into.

"Fancy a drink in the Leaky before you go?" Draco asked Hermione after the family had gone.

"Er, sure. Why not," she replied.

Draco ordered and they say down in a small booth, an awkward silence between them.

"So, today-" Hermione finally spoke.

"Where do you-" Draco spoke at the same time.

They both laughed and Hermione gestured for Draco to continue.

"Where do you think Jane will get sorted then?"

"Tough one but I'd have to say Hufflepuff, you?"

"Hufflepuff? Are you kidding, the girl's a blatant Ravenclaw!"

"Five galleons says Hufflepuff," Hermione said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"You're on, Granger," he shook her hand firmly. "Anyway, I best get going. I said I would write to McGonagall and let her know how today went."

He drained the rest of his drink and stood up. Hermione mimicked his actions; not wanting to stay in the pub alone. He said goodbye and headed for the door that would take him back to the Muggle street and she apparated on the spot back to the living room of her flat.

It wasn't until she went to bed that night that Hermione realised she had just spent most of the day with Malfoy and actually enjoyed herself. How times had changed since Hogwarts.


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is from Draco's POV, just for a change. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this or any other chapters :) **

The following morning when he arrived at work, Draco headed straight to Hermione's office. He had his usual coffee order in one hand, a large bag in the other and a mischievous smile on his face. He entered Hermione's office to find her desk chair vacant, her assistant quickly straightened herself up and smoothed down her hair before speaking.

"Good-morning bu-Mr Malfoy,Hermione isn't here, she went to speak with Mr Duggen. Can I take a message or anything?"

"Lucy, how many times do I have to ask you? Please don't call me Mr Malfoy, it makes me feel like I'm forty. It's Draco," he flashed her his most charming smile, making the young blonde-haired girl blush.

"Sorry, Draco. So, can I help?" she gazed at him, not realising she was dipping her quill into her teacup and not the ink pot next to it.

"No thanks. This is for Granger," he held up the bag in his hand, "if I leave it on her desk will you tell her it's from me please? It's a small thank you gift for coming with me to Diagon Alley yesterday."

"Absolutely."

"Thanks Lucy, I'll see you later," he said as he left the office.

He crossed paths with Hermione in the corridor; she was leaving Duggen's office as he was about to enter his which was just next door.

"Morning Granger," he said grinning, thinking of the bag that was waiting for her on her desk.

"Malfoy," she said suspiciously, "someone's in a good mood..."

"Why wouldn't I be? We've got that meeting with Albin Pilkvist today about Durmstrang. The fact that he's agreed to come here is an excellent sign he'll co-operate, I've got a good feeling about this."

"Speaking of feelings..."

Hermione's hands flew to her stomach just as Draco understood what she meant; another memory was about to draw them in. He felt the tugging in his own stomach and braced himself for whatever was about to materialise.

Draco looked around at where he and Hermione had been taken to this time. To his dismay, he realised that they were in a girls bathroom; this was obviously Hermione's memory and not one he was sure he wanted to see.

Thick black smoke was billowing out of one of the cubicles piquing his interest.

"Uh-oh," Granger was looking around the bathroom, a mix of realisation and shame on her face.

"What? What memory is this?" Draco asked her.

"Um, not one I'm particularly proud of. Just bear in mind this was only our second year of Hogwarts; I was young, okay?"

Draco walked slowly to the cubicle on the end. The grey door, barely attached to the hinges, was open. Twelve year old Hermione, recognisable by her huge curly hair, was kneeling on the floor with her back to where Draco was standing. He pulled his shirt over his mouth in an attempt to not inhale any of the smoke and looked over her shoulder.

A small cauldron sat in the toilet bowl, blue flames licking the edges. The contents were grey and lumpy; Draco immediately recognised them as Polyjuice potion. Why was Granger making it? More to the point, he wondered _how_ she was making it at only twelve years old. Three glass tumblers were balanced on the side of the toilet seat, Draco had a good idea who the other two were for.

He walked back over to Hermione and looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Polyjuice potion?" he asked.

"Yes," she mumbled, not looking at him.

"Can I ask why? Or who you're planning on changing into?"

"No," she turned to face the door of the bathroom which had just opened, Ron and Harry entering, "you're about to find out anyway."

He watched as young Hermione came out of the cubicle, she was asking Potter and Weasley if they had gotten something. They held out their palms and showed her something that Draco couldn't see.

"Good," she told them. And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry. You'll need bigger sizes once you're Crabbe and Goyle."

Draco turned back to Hermione, who now had her face in her hands.

"Crabbe and Goyle?! Is there any particular reason Potter and Wealsey are turning into Crabbe and Goyle?"

Hermione shook her head quickly, Draco knew she wasn't going to give up any information easily. He walked back to the end cubicle, where the three were now standing. Hermione had given them each a glass filled with the foul-looking potion and she was dropping a long hair into her own glass.

"Eurgh-essence of Millicent Bulstrode," Ron said.

"Millicent Bulstrode?" Draco asked incredulously. "I remember her, she asked me to go to the Yule Ball with her," he shuddered at the thought.

"Should I even ask why...?" he said to Hermione, she shook her head.

He continued to watch the memory unfold as Harry and Ron dropped hairs in their glasses and the three retreated into a cubicle each. Several moments passed before Harry and Ron, or Crabbe and Goyle, exited the cubicles, watching each other in amazement. Goyle mentioned finding the Slytherin Common room and once again Draco's interest piqued. Why did they need to find his old common room and why wouldn't Granger tell him what was going on? He watched Harry and Ron intently

It was unsettling for Draco to see his former friends looking at one another in such an odd way, not to mention that they were quite clearly thinking. Crabbe said something along the same lines about seeing Goyle thinking and Draco chuckled. He was quite enjoying watching a memory that didn't make him uncomfortable. Though seeing Granger in that dressing gown had been hilarious.

A high pitched voice pulled Draco out of his thoughts about Hermione's legs. The voice came from the same cubicle Hermione went into but it sounded nothing at all like the rough tones of Millicent Bullstrode. Under the voices instructions, Harry and Ron left the bathroom without Hermione. Draco was more curious than ever.

"Why didn't you go?" He asked Hermione who was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Couldn't," she replied anxiously looking at the closed cubicle door that the younger version of herself was hiding behind.

"Fine, don't tell me," Draco said stubbornly. "I'll find out myself."

With that, he walked into the cubicle next to Hermione's and closed the lid. Praying that they were sturdier than they looked, he placed one foot on top of the toilet and was about to pull himself up when Hermione shouted from behind him.

"Malfoy! No! Please!"

He turned around and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Look, I'll tell you what you want to know just _please_ don't look in there," she begged.

He stepped down and sat on the floor in front of the sinks. Hermione copied him and took a deep breath.

"So, you remember our second year, the Chamber of Secrets being opened and all the attacks?" Draco nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Well, everyone thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin but we knew he wasn't. We decided to find out who it was and we thought...well, we thought it was you..." she trailed off.

Draco laughed. "You thought _I_ was the Heir of Slytherin? I was the one attacking all the muggle-borns? You do know the Heir of Slytherin opened it decades before we even started school?"

"I know that. We thought maybe your dad..."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. So this was your plan then? To turn yourselves into some Slytherins and hope you could get a confession out of me?"

"Well, yes actually," Hermione replied.

"Brilliant," Draco laughed again. "Well, as crazy as your plan was, I have to say I'm impressed. Twelve years old and able to make Polyjuice, you really are smart Granger."

"Thanks. So, you're not annoyed?"

"I'm not thrilled that you thought that of me, but let's face it, I was a muggle-born hating prat back then. I would have suspected me too."

"Oh, because you're so different now," Hermione's time was skeptical.

"Yes, I am. I thought I had proved that to you."

"I'm not entirely convinced. People don't just change an opinion they've had since birth in a matter of five years for no reason," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Who said there wasn't a reason?" Draco responded, getting up from the floor and walking to the sink. He stared into the cracked mirror and wished he hadn't started the conversation.

"If there's some big reason then what is it?" Hermione asked the last question Draco wanted to hear.

"It doesn't matter. Just drop it, Granger. Okay?" his voice no longer had a hint of humour in it, now it was cold and unfriendly.

Sensing his tone, Hermione said no more but a few minutes later she let out a gasp which made Draco turn back to face her. The thing that made her gasp was evident; Moaning Myrtle was hovering over the toilet cubicle young Hermione was still locked in.

"Ooooh what happened to you?" Myrtle squeaked with delight. "Your little potion go all wrong did it?"

Sobs could now be heard from the cubicle, this made Myrtle even happier.

"Nice tail!" she shrieked.

"Tail?" Draco asked and ignoring his earlier deal with Hermione, he leapt on to the toilet seat and peered over the top of the dividing wall.

"You're a _cat_? Of course! Bullstrode had a cat! Horrible thing it was too! Hah!"

He jumped down from the toilet seat and doubled over with laughter. When Myrtle began floating around the bathroom meowing, Draco could barely breathe.

"All right," Hermione said loudly, "very funny. Yes, I was turned into a cat. I ended up having to go to the hospital wing you know!"

Draco wiped the tears from his eyes. "Sorry Granger, but even you have to admit that's funny. Serves you right for accusing me of something I didn't do! Heir of Slytherin indeed. The only Heir around here is the stuff on your face!"

Even Hermione let out a small laugh at Draco's bad joke. The more he laughed at himself, the more Hermione laughed too and eventually the pair were both clutching their ribs which now ached. They were both so busy laughing that neither of them noticed the scene around them dissolving and that they were once again standing in the corridor outside of Draco's office.

"Granger! Malfoy!" a voice barked.

They both stopped laughing abruptly and realised where they were. Duggen's head was peering out of the door.

"I'm thrilled you two are getting along but can you please keep the noise down and go get some work done?"

Hermione nodded and returned to her office without a word, Draco entered his own and sat down at his desk, still chuckling.

Not five minutes had passed since he had sat down when an inter-departmental memo whizzed through his door. He opened it up and read the short note inside.

_Malfoy,_

Thanks for the new dressing gown. Your sense of humour has no end.

Hermione. 

He folded the parchment and put it in his drawer, laughing again at his own jokes.


	10. Chapter 10

September passed in a blur for Hermione, her life had taken such a busy turn that she felt as though she had blinked and missed the entire month. She and Draco were working tirelessly with several international Ministry of Magic workers, not to mention headmasters of various schools. Durmstrang was proving to be particularly difficult having always prided themselves on teaching students of only the purest magical blood. There was another school in Norway that existed solely for the purpose of educating muggle-born children, however teaching quality was poor due to lack of belief in the students and not many of them passed their qualifying exams. Their Ministry weren't helping either; they were adamant that their current system worked just fine.

Draco was amazing; he managed to slowly persuade some lower members of staff in the right departments who were in turn subtly hinting to their bosses that Draco and Hermione's propositions were actually excellent ideas. Draco was confident they would crack any day now.

The pair were getting along much better now; though there was still the occasional argument which usually resulted in Hermione chasing Malfoy out of her office and locking the door (much to Lucy's amusement), generally they worked well together.

In the second week of September Draco had walked into Hermione's office first thing in the morning, coffees in hand for her and Lucy, and dropped five galleons and a piece of parchment on to her desk; it was a letter from Jane.

_Hi Draco and Hermione,_

I'm just writing to tell you my first week at Hogwarts has been AMAZING! I can't believe how much you didn't tell me about it! I've just finished my last lesson of the week which was taught by a REAL ghost, though he was a bit boring. I like my subjects so far, I think astronomy is my favourite, it's weird having a lesson outside in the middle of the night! I'm still trying to find my way around the castle, I was late a lot this week but the teachers were nice. Thankfully, a prefect showed me the way to Herbology and I got there in time to see a boy in my class nearly eaten by a plant...a plant! I told the Care of Magical creatures teacher, Professor Hagrid, that you two had shown me around Diagon Alley and he sent me to the Hospital Wing, he told the nurse that I was hallucinating and he knew for sure because you two would never be friends. I think he's a bit mad. Anyway, I'm about to go down for dinner now. I'll write again soon.

Jane.

P.S. I'm a Hufflepuff! 

"Hah!" Hermione exclaimed. "I told you she would be a Hufflepuff! Wonder what I could spend my five galleons on?"

Draco stuck his tongue out in an extremely childish gesture, shocking Hermione, before leaving the office without a word.

The rest of the month flew over in a haze of work, wedding planning with Juliette (they had found her a dress after weeks of shopping in both Muggle and magical shops) and more memories with Draco.

Since the last one with the making of the Polyjuice, their trips had been fairly pleasant. They had seen Hermione's tenth birthday party, re-lived the Yule Ball (this one had involved a lot of teasing on Draco's part about Ron and Hermione fancying each other) and sat through a very awkward conversation between Draco and his father about Hermione out-performing him in every test at school.

The memories were less frequent now, occurring approximately once every fortnight. Hermione took this as a good sign that they would soon be stopping and explained her theory to Malfoy that this was presumably because they could be in the same room as each other now without wanting to kill one another.

September passed into October and before Hermione knew it there was only one week to go before Halloween. After a day of shopping around for centrepieces with Juliette, the two apparated to Grimmauld place where they were having dinner with Harry, Ginny and Ron. Ginny now only had seven weeks to go before her due date and looked as though someone had shoved a beach ball up her top.

On arrival, it seemed Hermione and Juliette had interrupted a rather heated discussion between Harry and Ginny, who were standing at opposite ends of the kitchen facing each other. Ginny looked angry and Harry looked exasperated.

"...only seven weeks until the baby comes," Harry was saying.

"Yes, I know, thank you very much. I'm the one that's been carrying this baby for the last thirty-three weeks, trust me I'm counting down the days. That's besides the point though, I feel absolutely fine. We are doing this Harry," Ginny responded stubbornly.

Juliette cleared her throat and the couple looked up, realising they were no longer alone.

"Excellent," Harry exclaimed, "you two can back me up. My wife, in all her wisdom, wants to throw a Halloween party here, when she will have only six weeks before our baby is due. Can you two _please _tell her that it isn't a good idea?"

Hermione opened her mouth to tell her friend not to involve them in domestic disagreements but was interrupted.

"Don't get those two involved," Ginny said angrily, pointing her wand in Harry's direction, "this is between me and you. And this is _me_ telling _you_ that this is happening. I will be absolutely fine. I'll keep it just close friends and family, nothing huge. Besides, Mum will be there and she'll probably make me sit down and take over the whole thing anyway."

Her expression softened a little, "please Harry. This is the last chance we'll have to have a party and to relax, for Merlin knows how long."

"Fine," Harry conceded. "I was never going to win anyway was I?"

Ginny shook her head before turning her attentions to the two women still standing in the doorway

"Hello you two. Any luck with the centrepieces? I'm so sorry I couldn't make it but my ankles look like they've been dipped in swelling solution and my back is killing. I would have just slowed you down," she said.

"Don't worry Gin," Juliette replied as she and Hermione joined Harry who was now sitting at the table, "it was an unsuccessful trip. I just can't decide whether or not to go with flowers. I asked your brother but he was as useful as leprechaun gold."

"That's nice, I love you too," Ron said as he entered the kitchen. "I'm rubbish at this stuff Jules, you know that. That's why you've got Hermione and Ginny."

He grinned at her and she smiled back fondly. As he reached the table she gave him a quick kiss before he joined the others sitting at the table.

Conversation soon turned to the Halloween party Harry had been so reluctant to have. By the time Hermione left the group to return home, Ginny had decided on costumes for her and Harry, decorations, invitations and the food she would be serving.

***

The following Saturday was the night of the Halloween party. Hermione was standing in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom; checking her costume over one last time. She had decided to go as a vampire; all in black with a high-collared cloak that swept the floor, pale make-up on her face and she had charmed her teeth to make two of them elongated and pointy. Copious amounts of potion had been used on her wild hair so that it was now almost perfectly straight and tied back into a tight ponytail. Happy with her work, Hermione headed into the living room and flooed to Grimmauld Place.

The party was being held in the large drawing room which had been decorated spectacularly. Cobwebs hung in each corner and crevice in the room, pumpkins were carved and their candles flickered inside giving the room an eerie glow. Orange and black streamers hung from the ceiling and the long table bearing the food was covered in a black table cloth. Hermione could already see all of the Weasley's standing around chatting and laughing, she also recognised a couple of Harry and Ginny's friends from work. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and, true to Ginny's predictions, Molly had taken over the job of hosting, leaving Ginny to relax. Hermione smiled as she watched her sitting with Harry and Ron, rubbing her hand in small circles over her large stomach, she still couldn't believe that in just a few weeks Harry would be a father.

"Nice costume, I thought you would have come as a cat," a voice interrupted Hermione's thoughts.

She looked away from Ginny to see Draco standing in front of her, his trademark smirk upon his face. She wasn't aware he would be there but all the same wasn't surprised by h

"Ha-ha, very funny. You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Never," he replied simply.

Hermione noticed his appearance for the first time. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a fitted pale blue shirt.

"Where's your costume?"

"This is my costume. I've come as me, pretty scary don't you think?"

"No, I don't. It's a Halloween fancy dress party, you should be wearing a costume!" Hermione scolded.

She took out her wand and pointed it at him.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked skeptically.

"Fixing it," she said simply and began to wave her wand, murmuring incarnations.

As she did, the fabric of Draco's clothes began to tear.

"Are you mad woman?!" Draco yelled. "These are expensive clothes!"

"Don't worry, I'll fix them later," she said, now pointing the wand at his face which turned a sickly shade of green, dark bags appearing under his eyes.

"There, you're a zombie," Hermione said, proud of her work.

"I'm a what?"

"A zombie. It's a Muggle thing, like an inferi," she said.

He appraised his clothes once more and shrugged, content with Hermione's promise to change them back later.

The party was a great success, Hermione enjoyed chatting with some of the Weasley siblings she hadn't seen in several weeks. She was thrilled that Bill and Fleur brought four year old Victoire and baby Dominique with them, though it meant they had to leave early. Andromeda also visited briefly with Teddy who, as usual, spent most of his time being entertained by Harry. Hermione loved watching him with his Godson, it was tragic that Teddy would never meet his parents but Harry doted on him and Teddy adored him for it.

The only person who didn't seem to be enjoying themselves was, surprisingly, Ginny. Though the party had been her idea, she didn't get very involved in it. Several times Hermione asked her if she was alright but Ginny always replied that she was fine.

Midnight passed and most of the guests had started to leave, eventually only Hermione, Ron, Juliette and Draco remained with Harry and Ginny. The men were standing in one corner of the room, discussing everything from quidditch to Ron's impending nuptials.

Hermione was filling Juliette in on their school days with Draco, expressing her disbelief that the three were now on speaking terms. A laugh from Juliette was interrupted by a loud gasp from Ginny. Hermione turned around to see Her standing in the doorway, a pool of water at her feet.

"Ginny! Is that...?" Juliette asked.

Ginny nodded.

"Harry!" Hermione called. "I think you might want to come over here..."

Harry crossed the room, his eyes widening as he took in the scene before him.

"Is that...?"

"Yes," Ginny said, panting, "I think my waters have broken."

Panic followed this statement. Ron began shouting at Harry to take Ginny to St. Mungos, Juliette insisted that he calm down and Ginny yelled at everyone to be quiet.

"We don't need to go yet though do we?" Harry asked. "The healer we spoke to last week said that we shouldn't go until you're having contractions, even if your waters break. Right?"

He looked at Ginny, waiting for her to confirm.

"You remembered that? I thought you weren't listening?"

"Of course I was! That's my baby too you know," he said, almost offended.

"Sorry," Ginny apologised. "You're right, she did say that. It's just-"

She stopped and gasped again, bending over slightly and rubbing her stomach like she had been earlier. Hermione realised immediately what was happening.

"Merlin's pants! You've been having contractions all night haven't you?"

Harry looked wildly between Hermione and his wife. He watched as Ginny, still massaging her stomach and now gritting her teeth, nodded her head.

"And you didn't think to tell me? I _knew _this party wasn't a good idea! It's sent you into early labour!" Harry scolded.

"Harry," Hermione said, "priorities?"

"Right, sorry. Er-you wait here. I'll get the hospital bag then we'll floo to the hospital."

He walked to the door, preparing to squeeze past Ginny.

"Harry?" Hermione said again. "We can use magic remember. Accio hospital bag!"

A few seconds later a large black bag came zooming over Ginny and Harry's heads and landed on the floor in front of Hermione. Harry picked it up before he and Ginny, now temporarily free from the pain of the contractions, stepped into the fireplace and disappeared in a flurry of goodbyes and green flames.

"We best go to Mum's," Ron said to the group, "tell them what's happening."

"Keep me updated please Ron, I'll stay here and clean up so the house is tidy for them coming home," Hermione told him as he and Juliette stepped into the fireplace.

Ron nodded and the pair disappeared. It was only then that Hermione remembered Draco was still there. At her words, he had began to start clearing up; a stack of plates in his hand.

"Draco!" she exclaimed. "I forgot you were still here. Leave those, I'll sort them. You can head home."

"It's fine, honestly. I don't mind helping you. It'll get done quicker."

Draco was right; it hadn't taken them long to get the drawing room back to it's original state. Once finished, Hermione poured them both a glass of wine and they sat on the sofa to drink them. Tiredness set in as Hermione finished her wine, she set the glass down and lay her head on the back of the sofa, trying to find the energy to get up and return home.

Hours later, a sudden noise made Hermione jump. She and Draco had both fallen asleep on the sofa, she was mortified when she realised her head was resting on his shoulder, his was leaning against hers. She jumped up, waking Draco in the process, and looked around to locate the source of the noise. It was Ron.

"There you are! I've been to your flat looking for you. Wait, why are you still here?"

"I fell asleep. Anyway, that's not important. What's happening?" she asked him impatiently.

"She's had the baby! A boy; James Sirius Potter. Harry just popped in to tell us. They're all fine and we can visit in the morning." Ron was grinning from ear to ear.

"A boy? Your first nephew Ron! Harry's a dad, can you believe it?" Hermione sank back into the sofa, tears of happiness forming in her eyes for her friends.

"Mental isn't it?" Ron replied. "Anyway, I best get back. Mum's inconsolable, no surprise there. See you in the morning?"

"Absolutely. I'll meet you at The Burrow and we can apparate together," she crossed the room and hugged him. "Congratulations Uncle Ron!"

Still grinning, Ron stepped back into the fireplace and quickly disappeared.

**So thoughts on this chapter? I know there wasn't a great deal of Draco/Hermione action or memories but I don't want the chapters to be repetitive so this was a little break :) Leave a review and let me know what you think so far!**


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione headed to St. Mungo's early the next morning with Ron and Juliette, all three eager to meet the new arrival. They were met by Mr Weasley in the busy-as-ever reception area. Thankfully, they didn't need to wait in the growing queue which was now held up by a a woman with a huge beak who was squawking loudly at the receptionist.

"I told you already, FOURTH FLOOR SPELL DAMAGE!" the receptionist screeched back as the three greeted Arthur.

"Hello Grandpa!" Hermione said a little loudly so that Arthur could hear her over the squawking woman.

Arthur grinned and gestured toward the lifts. Once inside, he pressed the small button bearing the number six and finally spoke.

"That's better! That woman has been here since we arrived. The healers took her up to the fourth floor in the same lift as Molly and I earlier but she must have gone back down. Merlin knows why, the reversal spell is fairly straightforward for human transfiguration."

"Never mind that, Dad!" Ron scolded. "How's the baby? How are Ginny and Harry?"

"Fine, fine. All fine. James looks just like Harry, not a drop of Weasley in him though his eyes are pretty dark blue, Ginny thinks they'll be brown like hers," he smiled fondly.

The voice in the lift announced their arrival on the sixth floor and the group stepped out into the bright corridor. The walls were decorated with moving cartoon pictures of pygmy puffs and puffskeins. There were also paintings of flying phoenixes carrying pink and blue bundles, Hermione assumed this was their equivalent of storks delivering babies in the Muggle world; the effect was very cute.

They walked a little way along the corridor until they reached a door that bore a sign with Ginny's name on it. Arthur, who had been leading the way, stopped and turned to face the other three.

"I'll just nip in and tell Molly you're here. Only two visitors are allowed in at once so she'll have to tear herself away," he smiled as he entered the room.

"You two go in first," Juliette said to Ron and Hermione, who opened her mouth to protest. "It's _fine_ Harry is your best friend, I'll go in when you're done Hermione."

Mr and Mrs Weasley came out of the room at this point, the latter grabbing her son in a tight hug and sobbing into his shoulder.

"Oh, he's beautiful Ron," she said, pulling away and wiping tears from her eyes, "my first grandson! Go on, get in there and meet him."

She ushered Ron into the room and Hermione followed chuckling. It was a small and cosy room. The walls were plain and most of the space was taken up by a bed, a few chairs around it. In one corner there was a white nursing chair in which Ginny sat, cradling a bundle wrapped in blue blankets. Harry stood by her side, both new parents looked exhausted but were gazing happily at their son. The picture was so perfect that Hermione didn't want to interrupt; Ron, however, was less tactful.

"Alright you two," he announced, grinning.

"Alright," Harry beamed back.

Hermione rushed over and hugged Harry tightly, kissed Ginny on the cheek and congratulating them both before peeking at the baby in Ginny's arms. Arthur was right; he was _exactly_ like Harry. He had an array of black hair which was already standing on end at less than one day old. His face was round, his cheeks were pink and his eyes were shut tight.

"He fell asleep when Mum was holding him," Ginny explained.

Hermione took a step back so Ron could see his nephew.

"Looks just like you mate," he said to Harry, "poor thing."

"I said the same thing to Ginny," Harry replied, laughing.

"Do you want to hold him?" Ginny asked her brother.

"Let Hermione first, I can see she's dying to," Ron said, nudging Hermione forward.

She didn't object and took the baby from Ginny into her own arms, marvelling at how light he was. Ron summoned the chairs closer and both him and Hermione sat down, Harry perched on the arm of the chair Ginny was in.

"So," Harry began awkwardly, "there was-er, something we wanted to ask you both while you're here"

"Hmm?" Hermione said, still staring at baby James.

"Well," Harry continued, "we'd really like you both to be James' Godparents."

"Really?" Hermione said, looking up. "I'd be honoured!"

"Me too," Ron said. "Definitely. Can I buy him his first broom like Sirius did for you?"

"We'll see," Ginny laughed.

Hermione left the hospital shortly after. Though she could have stayed for hours, she wanted to give Juliette a chance to see James before the rest of the Weasley's arrived. Not wanting to go home, she used the fireplace in the reception area (now bird woman free) to floo to the Leaky Cauldron. She spent the next few hours shopping for baby clothes for James and left with several bags full, her favourite purchase being the white outfit covered in golden snitches; knowing Harry and Ginny would love it.

She apparated home and put the bags on the guest bed in the spare room of her flat; she would take them to Harry and Ginny when they were home, they suspected it would be some time later today. She closed the door behind her and headed to her small kitchen, craving a warm mug of tea. Her craving, it seemed, would have to wait, for as soon as Hermione filled the kettle she felt the sensation in the pit of her stomach that told her she was about to be taken away. Sighing, she braced herself and soon her kitchen disappeared and she was somewhere entirely different.

The where turned out to be Hogwarts; more precisely the Astronomy Tower. Draco was already there, looking paler than usual and pacing the floor.

"Draco?" Hermione asked tentatively.

He whipped his head around, startled by her appearance. His expression was that of a rabbit caught in a headlight; eyes wide, darting around. He turned away from Hermione without saying a word, more focused on the stairs behind them.

Hermione looked over his shoulder and soon discovered what it was he had been looking for: himself. Sixteen year old Draco ascended the stairs and stepped on to the landing of the Astronomy Tower. Just like the version of himself he couldn't see, he began pacing. Their expressions were identical, only the slightly longer hair, more defined cheekbones and stubble-lined chin on the older Draco set them apart.

Hermione now knew which memory this was. She glanced out of the window and an eerie green light that was being cast downwards on the tower confirmed it. The Dark Mark was out of sight above her head and she knew this was the night Dumbledore died. She desperately did not want to see this, it had been bad enough imagining it in her own head when Harry described what had happened all those years ago, now she would see it first hand.

"Dammit!"

Draco's voice made her jump. She turned away from the window to see him, wand in hand, scrunching his face up in concentration; he was trying to apparate.

"You know that won't work," she told him quietly.

"It has to," he hissed. "I can't stay here and watch this."

She was about to reply; to tell him that their trips didn't work that way, they couldn't just apparate away because they didn't want to see. She was going to suggest that he try going to another part of the castle, as he had at Malfoy Manor. However, the words did not come; her speech was interrupted by two brooms whooshing past her head and coming to a stop mere feet away from where she stood. One of them was carrying Dumbledore, the other seemed to be flying of it's own accord; Hermione knew that Harry was there with them, under his invisibility cloak.

In the few seconds since their arrival, Dumbledore's wand had clattered to the floor and a now petrified looking Draco was holding his own wand in a shaking hand, pointed at Dumbledore's face.

Like a car crash, Hermione found that she couldn't not watch the scene unfolding before her eyes. She had never felt such a rush of sympathy for another person as she did watching Draco listen to Dumbledore trying to save him, telling him that the Order of the Phoenix could protect him and his family despite their Death Eater status.

She remembered that she was not alone in watching the memory, a rush of guilt washed over her and she scanned the room to see if Draco was still there. She saw him sitting on the stone floor at the top of the stairs, his arms around his knees and his head down. He didn't even look up when Snape ran past him and stood by young Draco's side. Hermione sat down next to Draco on the floor and put a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off without a word.

"Severus...please..."

The desperation and pleading in Dumbledore's voice was unlike anything Hermione had heard before. She knew that he wasn't begging Snape to save his life but for him to end it but that did not stop the tears from falling. She squeezed her eyes shut and, in an infantile gesture, put her fingers in her ears. She did not hear the words that ended Albus Dumbledore's life but the flash of green was so bright that it still penetrated her eyelids. She opened her eyes to see chaos; people were running and shouting, Harry had appeared now that the body bind hex was broken and he was able to take off the cloak, he sprinted past Hermione and Draco on the floor and after the Draco who had just raced down the stairs dragged by Snape.

Now that they were alone, Hermione reached out to Draco again, touching his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. This time he did not shrug her off; he showed no acknowledgement at all. Hermione watched him closely, unsure of whether she should stay silent and wait for him to speak or say something first.

She had just decided on the latter when the scene around them changed. No longer were they sitting on the light grey stone floor of the Astronomy Tower, the surface on which they sat was now dark and wooden.

Yet again, to Hermione's horror, she and Draco were in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. As usual, the room was barely lit giving it an eerie feel. The fire was roaring and yet the room was still cold. She and Draco were alone but Hermione could hear voices coming from beyond the open door that presumably led to a hallway. She quickly stood up and crossed the room, her footsteps completely silent on the hardwood floor. She looked out of the door into the hallway beyond to see Snape, Draco and his parents. Narcissa was hugging a shaking Draco, Lucius tore her away and grabbed his son by the shoulders.

"Did you do it?" he hissed. Draco said nothing. "Draco! Did you do it?"

"It is done Lucius," Snape said coldly.

"Severus?" a voice came from behind Hermione, one that she would recognise anywhere, that she hadn't heard in many years; the voice of Voldemort.

Snape walked past her and into the room toward a figure who was standing facing the fire.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"The boy, did he do as I asked?"

"No, My Lord, but it has been done. He is dead."

"Bring the boy to me."

Snape turned to leave the room when Voldemort spoke again.

"And Lucius. Bring him too."

As Hermione watched Snape walk past her, Draco rose from the floor and approached her at the doorway.

"I'm going, I'm not watching this," he told her when she looked at him questioningly.

He stepped forward but was immediately thrown back by an invisible force. He landed noiselessly on the floor and quickly got back on his feet.

"What the...?"

He stretched his hand out and tried to reach into the visible hallway but it was as though the doorway was filled with glass, for it too bounced back.

"It won't let me out. You try," he demanded of Hermione.

She tried to reach her hand past the doorway like Draco had but it too was thrown back.

"It's like a force field, keeping us in this room. We mustn't be able to get away from this memory."

Draco swore and stormed to the far side of the room, taking a seat on the floor for the second time. Moments later, Snape entered the room again, younger Draco and his father following him. They stood on the large green rug in front of the fire, facing Voldemort's back.

"You may go, Severus. You have served me well tonight."

"My Lord," Snape murmured before leaving.

Finally, Voldemort tuned to face the two male Malfoys, his expression as cold as it ever was.

"Draco, Severus tells me you failed to complete the task I assigned to you. Tell me, did you not want Dumbledore to die? Were you in support of him?"

"No, My Lord," Draco mumbled.

"Then tell me, were you too scared to kill a defenceless man?"

"No, My Lord."

"Then I'm curious Draco. You boast to your friends about wearing the mark of Lord Voldemort-yes, I've seen it in your thoughts-and yet you will not do my bidding. I do not like my followers defying me, Draco. This cannot go unpunished. Don't you agree, Lucius?"

"I agree, My Lord." Lucius said almost inaudibly, not looking at his son or Voldemort.

"Then surely, Lucius, you won't object to being the one to do it?" Voldemort said with a cruel smile.

"My-My Lord?" Lucius finally looked up.

"Oh yes, Lucius. You must teach your son that Lord Voldemort knows no mercy. I think three times."

"Please, My Lord. I can't-"

"But you will, Lucius. If you know what is good for you and your family, you will. Now."

"Father?" Draco asked as Lucius turned to face him.

Not meeting his son's eyes, Lucius Malfoy raised his wand and pointed.

"Crucio," he whispered.

Draco fell to his knees, a scream escaping him. He writhed in pain on the rug for what felt like an eternity.

"No!" Hermione yelled though only one person could hear her and there was nothing he could do to help.

Finally Draco's scream stopped. Hermione watched as he pulled himself up onto all fours and began to crawl away like a wounded animal.

"Again!" Voldemort shrieked.

"Crucio," Lucius whispered again.

Twice more Hermione heard Draco being tortured, for she now faced the grey stone wall, unable to watch any more. Twice more she heard his screams and twice more she heard the high, cold laugh of Voldemort.

The screaming stopped for the last time and Voldemort swept out of the room, his humourless laugh still echoing around it. Hermione took one final look at the blonde boy, looking so small and helpless as he curled in a foetal position now in the middle of the gleaming wood floor, before she turned to face his older self.

"Draco?" she whispered.

He did not reply, his eyes were still on himself though it seemed they were looking straight through him. Hermione spoke again.

"Draco? Please talk to me...I know what it's like..." she began, snapping Draco out of his trance.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" he roared, making Hermione jump. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE!"

"Draco, please, I-" Hermione pleaded.

"You what Granger? What could you _possibly_ say to make me feel better?"

"Nothing, I just-"

"Exactly. Nothing. You know nothing about me, or what my life was like back then. I'm done with these memories, I'm fucking done. Why is it always my shit that we're watching? Am I being punished or something? Was being crucioed by my own father not enough? Just don't even try to give me your sympathy Granger, because I don't fucking want it."

Hermione was so shocked at Draco's outburst that she only realised the churning feeling in her stomach that meant the memory was over as the Manor disappeared. She was left standing alone in her kitchen, tears falling down her face.

**hello! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please do me me know your thoughts :) **


	12. Chapter 12

Draco was unusually frosty with Hermione at work over the weeks following the last memory. He stopped appearing in her office first thing in the morning with coffee for her and Lucy, only ever stopping by if he had something to discuss that couldn't have been done via a flying memo. He avoided eye contact with her in their weekly briefing with Duggan and was even allowing her to work on their latest school alone whilst he worked with another, curtly telling her it was a more effective way of working.

Hermione couldn't help but feel disheartened at the rapid change in direction their relationship had taken. She had almost started to consider Draco as a friend, something she never thought would happen. The worst part was that she couldn't fathom _why_ he was behaving this way. Yes, the memory had been their most uncomfortable by far and it definitely didn't show Draco in a good light, nor did it paint a picture of a particularly happy time in his life, but that wasn't Hermione's fault.

"He's being ridiculous," she complained to Lucy for what felt like the hundredth time after Draco had entered her office, placed a folder on the desk and left without a word.

"So you've said," Lucy replied. "I've told you to just confront him. Just march up to him and ask what his problem is!" Then she added, "and give that arse a squeeze from me."

Hermione shook her head. "He's been working here for four months now and you're still not over that?"

"Nope, and I don't intend to be," she grinned. "Listen, since when have you been the type of person to sit around and let your problems brew like an old potion? You're Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake!"

"You know what," Hermione replied, "you're right. I'm going to speak to him."

With that, she got out of her seat and left her office, walked down the corridor and straight into Draco's office. He was sitting in his usual position, feet up on the desk and parchment in hand. His hair was ruffled as though he had just been running a hand through it and he looked tired; black circles forming under his eyes.

Hermione cleared her throat. "We need to talk."

He did not speak but gestured to the chair opposite him and sat up properly, knocking some stray sheets of parchment off the desk with his feet in the process.

"I would like to resolve whatever issue it is that you have with me. It's making our work environment uncomfortable and I don't like it," Hermione told him in a formal tone.

"I don't have an issue with you, Granger," Draco replied simply.

"The fact that you've just called me 'Granger' suggests otherwise, _Malfoy_," she retorted.

The corner of his mouth twitched; a smile threatening to form but he just shrugged.

"That's it?" Hermione said, mimicking his gesture. "Look, I have done absolutely nothing wrong. I'm as frustrated as you are with these stupid memories and I know that last one-"

The mention of the memory seemed to touch a nerve with Draco; he banged his hand on the desk.

"Don't, Granger," he said through gritted teeth. "Just don't, okay?"

"Don't what? Talk about the memories? Why not? Let's face it, there's probably going to be more and we can't just ignore them. This isn't my fault you know."

"Is it not? Think about it Granger, if you hadn't been so damn unreasonable when I first started working here then Duggan wouldn't have asked Portree for help and we wouldn't have gone through that stupid door!"

"I cannot believe you're trying to pin this on me!" Hermione said incredulously. "If you hadn't showed up here in the first place pretending to care about Muggleborns then none of this would have happened!"

"Are you still obsessing about that? Four months I have been here, _four_ _months_ and you _still_ don't trust me when I say I want to help? Did I not prove myself with the Quidditch match, with Jane? Just because I haven't told you why I wanted to work on this project doesn't mean there isn't a reason you know."

He avoided her gaze, the look on his face suggested that he had said more than he wanted to. Hermione desperately wanted to ask him what the reason was but knew that he had a very short temper and she was already testing it so decided not to. She took a deep breath in to calm herself down before speaking again.

"Fine. Yes, I admit I have questioned your motives less lately and I appreciate the hard work you've put in to this project. Truth be told, I thought we were actually working well together lately and then the past couple of weeks it's like we've gone back to the start. You rarely speak to me, you'd rather work alone and I know it's because of the last memory but I just can't work out why."

Draco gave a defeated sigh. "It's nothing to do with you. I'm just sick of re-living moments that I've spent the last five years trying to forget. I've worked so hard to not be that person anymore and those stupid memories just won't let him go."

Hermione stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I was angry, I took it out on you and I shouldn't have."

"Wow, Draco Malfoy apologising. Can I get that in writing?" Hermione teased.

"No. And if you tell anyone I'll deny it."

The pair laughed and Hermione felt as though a weight had been lifted. She spent the next hour in Draco's office catching up properly on the work each of them had been doing in the last few weeks before returning to an eagerly awaiting Lucy.

"Finally!" Lucy exclaimed. "Well? How did it go with The Bum?"

"Please stop calling him that, it's very unprofessional," Hermione scolded in a lighthearted tone. "It was fine though, we cleared the air."

"Excellent, I told you talking to him would help. Anyway, on to more pressing issues. Look what just arrived!"

Lucy handed Hermione a square piece of expensive-looking parchment and she began to read:

_Dear Ministry worker,_

_You are cordially invited to attend the Ministry of Magic annual Christmas Party. It will take place in the Ministry dining hall on Saturday December 20th at 20:00. Please use the attached form to confirm your attendance._

_Talia Sprokket_

_Assistant to the Minister for Magic._

There was another form attached to the back of the invitation on which the recipient was required to fill out their name, department and whether or not they would be bringing a guest to the party.

"Are you going then?" Lucy asked eagerly.

"I suppose so, I went last year and it was pretty good. This will be your first won't it?"

"Yep! I've already sent my confirmation. I'm so excited! Shall we go shopping this weekend for dresses?" Lucy was bouncing in her seat.

"I was actually just thinking of wearing something I already had, the dress I wore last year was quite nice…"

"Absolutely not!" Lucy exclaimed. "We are buying new dresses this weekend whether you like it or not. Oh! Let's go shopping in Muggle London, I bet you know all of the nice shops."

"Fine," Hermione said, sensing defeat. "I'll meet you at yours Saturday morning, around ten?"

Lucy nodded, grinning.

Hermione detached the response form from the invitation and began to fill in her details. She hesitated at the question titled 'Will you be bringing a guest?' and for the second year in a row, she ticked the little box marked 'no'. As soon as she had, the parchment folded itself up into the shape of a Christmas tree and whizzed out of the room leaving Hermione feeling a little deflated.

Hermione had a surprisingly fun day shopping with Lucy, not only had they both found new dresses for the work party, Hermione had also completed all of her Christmas shopping. On the day of the party, Hermione had spent some of the morning and most of the afternoon wrapping her presents; she always liked to do it the Muggle way whilst playing old Christmas music like her mum used to.

She started getting ready fairly early, allowing herself plenty of time. Though her hair was more manageable now than in her school days, it was still a chore to make it look nice for such an event. Her excitement built as she got ready, Ron and Juliette would be attending and Harry and Ginny were having their first night out since James was born; Hermione was looking forward to spending a night with her friends.

A couple of hours later, Hermione was dressed and ready to go. She was wearing the dress that Lucy had essentially forced her to buy, a strapless, knee-length, floaty gown in pale silver, with black shoes, bag and jewelry. Her hair was all pinned up, held in place by crystal hair slides and her make-up was as simple as ever. She took one last glance in the mirror in her bedroom before heading into the living room to floo to the Ministry.

The dining hall of the Ministry for Magic by day was a plain room. The walls were pale green and the floor was wooden, there space was taken up by lots of long tables that comfortably sat up to ten people at a time and a long serving counter that held the magically re-filling dishes available that day. For one night a year, however, it was a beautiful setting for a magical Christmas party. The walls were now silver and the floor enchanted to look like the guests were walking on ice, round tables covered in bright white cloths replaced the rectangular ones, the ceiling was black and dotted with twinkling lights giving the effect of the night sky. In each corner stood Christmas trees that towered even those from Hermione's days at Hogwarts, all decorated in blues and silvers. Trays floated around the room holding full champagne flutes and (paid) House-Elves were greeting the guests at the door.

Hermione scanned the room and saw Ginny and Juliette sitting at one of the round tables, she headed over and greeted them.

"Hello you two, you both look beautiful!"

"Hello Hermione, you too!" Juliette smiled, whilst Ginny nodded.

"How's my beautiful Godson?" Hermione asked Ginny, despite having seen him the night before.

"He's great. Mum's in her element babysitting him. She said she'd have him all night and drop him off tomorrow but we didn't want to leave him all night so we're staying over at the Burrow tonight."

Ron and Harry joined the girls, having been chasing one of the trays around to get drinks. Harry handed her a glass of champagne.

"Saw you come in," he explained. "Alright?"

"Great thanks," she replied. "You look very handsome, both of you."

"Cheers Hermione," Ron said. "These robes are much better than the ones Mum bought me for the Yule Ball!"

Hermione and Harry rolled their eyes.

"You said that exact same thing last year Ronald."

"And the year before," Juliette added.

"And the one before that!" Harry laughed, Ron's ears turned red.

Hermione chatted animatedly with her friends for a while before she spotted Lucy and left to meet her. Lucy was looking more stunning than usual in a pale pink, full-length fitted dress. Her blonde hair was in loose curls and make-up in light shades of pink to match her dress.

"You look beautiful!" Lucy squealed at her. "I told you that dress was a good idea!"

"Thanks, same to you!" Hermione grinned.

"Speaking of beautiful, have you _seen_ The Bum tonight? His work robes do him no justice at all. He's wearing a suit, a proper Muggle one!"

"Really?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"See for yourself," Lucy replied. "Hello Draco!"

"Lucy," he smiled, "you're looking very lovely tonight."

Lucy beamed. "Thanks!"

She spotted a friend from the Goblin Liaison department over Draco's shoulder and excused herself leaving Hermione standing with Draco.

"You scrub up well, Granger," he said teasingly.

"Thanks, I think. I could say the same for you," she replied. She began to feel butterflies in her stomach as she appraised his attire. She distracted herself from the unsettling feeling by questioning his choice. "Why the Muggle suit?"

"Comfier than dress robes," he replied simply.

Hermione's expression was quizzical but he said no more. After a few seconds of awkward eye-contact, Draco looked away and stopped one of the trays, grabbing two glasses of champagne. He handed one to Hermione and drained his own glass in one.

"Thirsty?" Hermione asked, taking a small sip of her own drink.

"Not particularly, I'm preparing myself," he said, taking Hermione's glass and setting both of them down on the table next to them.

"For what?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" she breathed.

Draco took her hand and before Hermione could say another word the Ministry hall disappeared.


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione quickly pulled her hand away in embarrassment. She stepped away from Draco, feeling uncomfortable at their close proximity, under the pretence of examining their surroundings. With a jolt of surprise she realised that they were standing in the living room of her parents' house. A large Christmas tree stood in front of the bay window, decorated with red and gold baubles, a stack of perfectly wrapped presents lay underneath. Judging by the pinkish glow cast in the room through the blinds it was early morning.

"It's Christmas!" Hermione exclaimed happily. "I wonder which one though..."

She didn't have to wait long for an answer, for soon after she had spoken the living room door opened and Hermione's parents entered the room with ten year old Hermione. Her dad, wearing plaid flannel pyjamas, had his hands over Hermione's eyes and was guiding his daughter into the room. Draco chuckled at the sight of Hermione, wearing the dressing gown he had taunted her about many times. Hermione didn't have to ask what he was laughing at, she shot him a quick glare before turning her gaze back to her younger self.

"Are you ready Hermione? Should we see if Santa has paid you a visit?" her dad asked.

"Dad, I've known since I was eight that Santa doesn't exist, you do this every year!" Hermione giggled, trying to wriggle away from her dad's grip.

Hermione knew that her younger self was rolling her eyes behind her father's hands and smiled at the memory.

"What on earth is a Santa?" Draco asked, puzzled.

"Not what," Hermione replied. "Who. He's a fat jolly man that Muggle parents tell their children brings them presents every year on Christmas Eve whilst they're sleeping. Mum and Dad were so shocked when I told them I knew he wasn't real. Dad still liked to pretend, even after I started Hogwarts."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Draco replied.

"It's not ridiculous, it's great fun. I used to have to write him a list of what I wanted for Christmas, then on Christmas Eve we would leave a mince pie and glass of milk out for Santa, water and a carrot for the reindeer-"

"For the what?" Draco interrupted.

"Reindeer, they're sort of like thestrals but less scary, they pull Santa's sleigh-"

"His what?"

Draco's expression became more confused with every new piece of information Hermione gave him. By the time she had fully explained everything, ten year old Hermione and her parents had opened all of their presents and left the room.

Voices could now be heard coming from a different room, Hermione led the way to the kitchen and the source of the noise. It seemed time had skipped several hours for now Hermione and her parents were seated at the dining table, along with both sets of Hermione's grandparents, three of which were now no longer alive. Tears formed in her eyes at the sight.

"Are you crying?" Draco asked.

"Just being silly," Hermione sniffed.

"Was your mum's cooking that bad?" he smiled, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Don't be daft. It's just, Grandad and Grandma Granger and Grandma Anderson, they died and it's just...strange seeing them again. Wonderful, but strange," she sighed.

"Sorry," Draco mumbled.

"It's okay, it's life I guess."

They continued to watch as Hermione and her family ate their turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Draco had several more questions, most of them about the 'boring prizes from the crackers'. When they were done, the family retreated into the living room and once more, time seemed to have leaped forward. When Hermione and Draco entered, her grandparents weren't there and a glance out of the window told them it was night time.

"This was always my favourite part of the day," Hermione explained to Draco. "Mum and Dad would watch Gremlins, I'd occupy myself with my presents and we'd all drink hot chocolate."

Sure enough, young Hermione was cross-legged on the floor, a book in her lap and a mug in her hand. Draco was now watching her parents and asking Hermione a new stream of questions about the television.

"Muggle Christmases are bizarre," Draco concluded.

"They're not, they're brilliant," Hermione argued. "Tell me then, what was a typical Malfoy Christmas like?"

"Well firstly-" Draco began but was interrupted by a change in their surroundings.

The living room dissolved and a new room formed around them. A huge mahogany dining table dominated the space, one that would easily sit thirty people around it. Each space was set with expensive looking silverware and tall golden goblets.

Narcissa Malfoy was slowly walking around the table examining each setting, occasionally moving a fork millimetres to the left or right.

"It seems you're about to find out exactly what a Malfoy Christmas is like Hermione," Draco said, watching his mother.

"Elf!" Narcissa yelled and with a 'crack!', a very familiar figure appeared.

"Dobby..." Hermione whispered.

"I forgot you knew him," Draco said. "He was a good elf, I didn't even know he died until Potter told me a few weeks ago..." he trailed off, his expression unreadable.

"...spent the last ten minutes fixing the cutlery," Narcissa was scolding Dobby. "I need you to collect the centrepieces from Bogdon's Bewitching Blossoms and set them out. It's a simple task that even you should manage."

"Yes Miss," Dobby replied looking at the floor before disapperating with another loud 'crack!'

The dining room door opened and Lucius strode over to his wife.

"Everything prepared?" he asked her.

"Almost. I've sent the elf to collect the centrepieces, though for all the use he is I might as well do it myself. He couldn't even manage to set the table properly."

"Stupid thing. He's almost not worth having. I'll have him punish himself tomorrow, can't have him covered in bandages in front of our guests can we?" Lucius laughed.

It took all of Hermione's strength not to make a comment about Lucius' attitude towards house elves. Thankfully a distraction arrived in the form of a young Draco coming into the room, dressed in grey silk pyjamas.

"How old are you here?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Must be about eleven. Yes, this is me in first year of Hogwarts. I stayed over the holidays in second year and I'm no older than that."

"Good morning son," Narcissa greeted Draco with a hug. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Mother. Merry Christmas Father."

"And you, Draco. Here," Lucius said handing him a small red drawstring bag.

Draco opened the bag and peered inside, he grinned as he closed it again.

"We'll go shopping before you go back to school," Narcissa said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now, off you go and get dressed, our guests will be arriving shortly."

"What was in the bag?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Money. I always got money for Christmas."

"No presents?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"No, I would buy what I wanted with the money they gave me."

Hermione said no more on the subject but once again found herself feeling sorry for Draco.

As with Hermione's Christmas Day memories, time kept jumping to different events of the day. Soon the dining room was filled with a number of people, some of which Hermione recognised from school: Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle were all there with their parents. Hermione also recognised a few Death Eaters who, like Lucius Malfoy, had avoided Azkaban after Voldemort disappeared. The long table was now covered with beautiful floral centrepieces and a delicious looking feast; several large cooked geese, roasted vegetables, huge cheese plates and the biggest Christmas pudding Hermione had ever seen. Dobby was running around tirelessly refilling goblets, clearing plates and bringing more platters full of food to the table.

Eleven year old Draco was sat at the far end of the table with his friends and not once did Hermione see his parents speak to him, they hadn't interacted since Lucius had handed him the bag of money in the morning.

The scene shifted again for the evening and Hermione prepared herself to see Draco and his parents spending some time together but once again, the room was filled with people. The dining table was moved to one side of the room, a beautiful buffet laid on top of it, and the chairs were around the edges. A large space in the centre of the room was taken up by dancing guests, all of whom looked as though they had drank a little too much and each holding glasses of wine, again topped up on occasion by Dobby.

Draco and the other children were nowhere to be seen amongst the party guests. Hermione asked him where they were.

"Off in the Manor somewhere, we were always told to entertain ourselves past ten o clock, these parties would go on through the night."

"So you never spent time with your parents on Christmas Day?"

"Yes, in the morning. You saw..." he sounded confused.

"Yes but what about the rest of the day? Christmas is supposed to be a family day!"

"Not at my house it wasn't," Draco's tone told Hermione that was the end of the discussion.

The memory seemed endless, the pair had been away for hours now and Hermione was istarving/i; she had deliberately not eaten much that day to save herself for the food at the ministry party.

"Is it just me or is this seeming endless?" Draco asked, though reading her thoughts.

"I was just thinking that. We've never been away this long."

"I'm getting tired of these little trips now," Draco sighed. "I went to see Portree you know, after the last one. I threatened to hex him if he didn't stop them from happening. Of course he gave me a cryptic speech about how 'the doorway' is the only one that can stop them. It'll do it 'when we're ready'. I don't get it though, we're not arguing nearly as much as we used to, surely that was what Duggen wanted?"

"Apparently the doorway has a different idea. Maybe it has set memories that we ihave/i to see before they stop? I wish you had told me that you were going to see Portree though, I would have come with you. He probably would have explained better if you hadn't said you were going to hex him," Hermione said crossly.

"In my defence, I was pretty pissed off at that point. It's fine for you, the worst you've had to deal with is re-living being turned into a cat and being caught in that dressing gown."

"That's not my fault though, I've had my fair share of tough times too you know, they just haven't been on the doorways itinerary apparently. I'll admit this whole thing has been tougher on you though. It's awful watching you go through all of this. I didn't realise things at home were so bad-" Draco cut her off at this point.

"Look, Hermione, I don't need your sympathy okay? I get that you had this perfect childhood with perfect parents and perfect Christmases but that wasn't my life and it's fine. Do I wish it had been different? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it? No. So there's no point dwelling on it, all I can do is make sure my future isn't like that and that's what I've been doing for the past five years and I've managed perfectly well without your comforting pats on the back and reassuring words."

"Well I'm sorry for trying to make you feel better, I'll not bother next time. Enjoy the rest of your night Draco."

Hermione left without another word and headed back towards the table that her friends were sitting at. Before she reached them, however, she was stopped by Lucy.

"That looked like a heated discussion," she said, raising her eyebrows.

"It was nothing," Hermione replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Didn't look like nothing," Lucy lowered her voice to a whisper. "Did you two take a little trip?"

"If you must know, yes," Hermione replied.

She proceeded to tell Lucy about the two Christmases they had seen and how she felt bad for Draco. Lucy agreed and Hermione continued, explaining Draco's anger when she had expressed her sympathy.

"Just leave him for a while," Lucy said once Hermione finished talking, "he'll soon get over it. It can't be easy for him you know, seeing all of these memories from his childhood. He's obviously trying to forget about it all. Maybe on the next one you should just keep your thoughts to yourself rather than telling him, you don't seem to do yourself any favours."

"I know you're right," Hermione sighed. "It's just difficult, seeing him so affected by the memories. It's crazy that I'm so bothered though. I mean, this is someone I hated from being eleven years old, now I'm seeing this whole part of his life I didn't know existed. He had all of these ideas drilled into him from such a young age, it's really no wonder he turned out the way he did. Now he's so different and I know there's a big reason for it and he won't tell me. It's just so frustrating!"

Hermione began to blush at her unexpected outburst though she felt better having got her thoughts about Draco off her chest.

"Do you think there's maybe a reason you're so bothered?" Lucy asked, a sly smile on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is maybe you like this new side to him more than you care to admit," Lucy winked.

"Oh, don't be so ridiculous, Lucy. Just because you have inappropriate thoughts about Draco Malfoy and his bum doesn't mean we all do!"

Lucy's face turned a shade of red that Hermione hadn't seen before, even on a Weasley. The reason became apparent very quickly when a voice from behind Hermione spoke.

"That's good to know, Granger. Having inappropriate thoughts about my arse would be extremely unprofessional of you."

"Er, I have to go, drink needs topped up," Lucy mumbled and hurried off.

"Nice girl, that Lucy. Smart," Draco winked before also walking away leaving Hermione standing alone and feeling unsure about what had just happened.

**A/N Hello! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Please please leave me a little comment and let me know your thoughts, I'd love to know your opinions on the story :) Thanks to lovewriting12 for pointing out my glaring error! I've fixed it now :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Following the Christmas party at the Ministry, Hermione had two weeks off work for Christmas and New Year. Her mum and dad had opted to stay in Australia after the removal of the memory charm so Hermione would be spending Christmas Day at with the Weasley's, Harry, Andromeda and Teddy as usual.

She stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow on Christmas morning to a scene that was familiar but still one that she would never tire of. Steam was rising from various pots and pans on the stove, a large turkey was almost done roasting in the oven and smells from both filled the air. Celestina Warbeck could be heard warbling from the wireless wizarding radio on the cluttered shelf and Molly was singing along, unaware that Hermione was there, whilst pointing her wand to stir pots, wash dishes and set the table.

"Oh! Hermione, dear, you frightened me," Molly said as she turned around. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Molly. Dinner smells amazing as usual."

"Thank you," Molly smiled. "The others are in the living room."

Hermione took that as her hint to leave Molly to her cooking and headed through to the living room. It seemed she was the last to arrive, Bill and Fleur were there with Dominique and Victoire, Juliette was discussing wedding plans with Angelina whilst Ron and George looked bored, Percy and Audrey were fussing over Molly and Lucy, Charlie was sitting by Andromeda whilst entertaining an orange-haired teddy with a toy dragon, and Harry and Ginny were entertaining James with the baubles on the Christmas tree. The group greeted Hermione in a flurry of 'hello's' and 'merry Christmases' and she sat herself down next to Harry and Ginny, taking baby James in her arms for a cuddle.

They had a typical Christmas Day at the Burrow; everyone ate too much under the stern glare of Mrs Weasley, presents were exchanged and then lost under a heap of wrapping paper, Fleur complained and expressed her dislike of Celestina Warbeck's songs, children were fussed over and many laughs were shared. Hermione thought a lot of her parents throughout the day. Though she saw the Weasley's as family, her recent visit to her own memory of Christmas as a child was fresh in her mind and making her miss her mum and dad. She made herself a promise to visit them as soon as her workload was a little less hefty.

Ordinarily, Hermione would spend New Year's eve out with Harry, Ginny, Ron and Juliette but this year the four were staying home, Harry and Ginny too exhausted from sleepless nights with James, Ron and Juliette deciding to stay in and spend the night going over seating plans for the wedding; a task that Ron had been avoiding. Lucy had refused to let Hermione spend the night alone as she had planned and instead invited her to a party at her house. Hermione had reluctantly accepted; worrying that she would spend the night surrounded by witches and wizards much younger than her but Lucy had promised that wouldn't be the case.

As it transpired, Lucy was telling the truth. Hermione arrived at Lucy's house, bottle of goblin-made wine in hand, to see several familiar faces. Some she recognised from working at the ministry and a few surprises came in the form of her ex-classmates, Dean, Seamus and the Patil twins.

"What a lovely surprise! I didn't know you all knew Lucy," Hermione said, greeting the group with hugs.

"We don't personally," Parvati explained, "my boyfriend works with Lucy's friend Evangeline in Goblin Liason's so we got a sort of extended invitation," she gestured to herself and Padma.

"Seamus and I know her though, we met her and a group of her school friends one night just before Christmas in the Three Broomsticks and she invited us," Dean explained.

Hermione stood chatting for a little longer with the group, each telling her what they had been doing since leaving Hogwarts. They all expressed how surprised they had been when they read about her break up with Ron in the Daily Prophet but Hermione told them happily that he was soon to be married and that she would be bridesmaid. She was beginning to tell them about her job and the work she had been doing with international schools when Parvati interrupted.

"Of course! We heard you're working with Draco Malfoy. I bet that's a _nightmare_."

"Actually," Hermione started.

"Actually, she loves it. Don't you, Granger?"

Hermione whipped her head around even though she immediately knew who had spoken. Sure enough, Draco was standing behind them. Parvati blushed.

"I wouldn't go that far, Draco, but it's certainly more bearable than I'd originally suspected it would be," she teased.

"Very funny," he said sarcastically. "Drink?" he asked, noticing the unopened bottle in her hand.

She nodded and followed him as he searched for the kitchen. They found a bench top full of goblets and Draco grabbed two so Hermione could fill them both up with the wine she had brought.

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" Hermione asked conversationally.

"Uneventful," he replied sadly, but said no more about it and turned the conversation away from himself. "You?"

"Lovely, I spent it at the Weasley's house as usual."

"What, no visit from Santman and hot chocolate with your parents?" he smirked.

"It's Santa," she corrected, "and no. My parents live in Australia, they have done since before the war."

Draco looked at her quizzically and she continued. "Before I left to go on the run with Harry, I knew that the Death Eaters would go searching for me at my parent's house," she ignored the cringe from Draco at the mention of Voldemort's followers and continued, "so I modified their memories and convinced them to move to Australia where they would be safe and wouldn't remember me."

"That's awful," Draco mumbled.

"It was at the time, it was the most difficult thing I've ever done but I knew I had to, to keep them safe. I found them again after the war with the help of some people at the Ministry, I reversed the memory charm and they decided to stay there. It was something they had always talked about and they knew that I wasn't planning on moving back home so it made sense to just stay I guess."

Lucy came into the kitchen, putting an end to what had become quite a serious conversation between Hermione and Draco.

"Hermione!" she squealed. "Seamus said you were here, I didn't see you come in."

Hermione hugged the young girl. "Sorry Lucy, I should have come to find you, I got distracted catching up with Seamus and the others, it's been so long since I saw them last."

"Don't worry," she waved a hand dismissively. "I'm so glad you came. Come and meet my friends? I've been telling them about you and they don't believe that _the_ Hermione Granger is my boss!"

She grabbed Hermione by the hand and pulled her away from Draco and out of the kitchen. Hermione spent the next few hours chatting animatedly with Lucy's friends, who were as lovely as Lucy herself. They asked her a lot of questions, mostly about the status of Harry and Ginny's relationship; apparently he was still popular with the young women of the wizarding world. The next time Hermione saw Draco, he looked as though he had drank a little too much.

"Hermione Granger," he slurred as he approached Hermione.

"Draco…how much have you had to drink?"

"Not enough!" he exclaimed, raising his glass and sloshing red wine over the edges.

"Maybe that's enough for now," she responded, making a move to take the goblet away from him.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, snatching the drink and holding it close to his chest.

"Come on, let's go and make you some coffee," she now tried to pull on his arm and drag him toward the kitchen.

He pulled his arm away roughly and glared at Hermione. "You just don't want me to have any fun Granger. I've had no fun at Christmas and I'm making up for it tonight. You're boring me now."

He turned his back on Hermione and surveyed the group of girls she had been chatting with before his arrival. He spotted Lucy and stumbled closer to her, tapping her on the shoulder to gain her attention.

"Hello lovely Lucy," Draco said, almost incoherently.

"Hello drunk Draco," she quipped back.

He giggled and placed a hand in the small of her back.

"You're very funny you know. That's what I like about you. You're not at all _boring_ like _some_people I know," at this point Draco deliberately turned and glared at Hermione, who rolled her eyes.

"Thanks very much," Lucy replied grinning.

"You would let me have fun wouldn't you Lucy?" he pouted.

"Sure, Draco."

"Good, because the bookworm won't let me, you know."

Hermione did not wait around to hear Lucy's response, she tutted loudly and turned on her heel, eager to find someone she could have a more mature conversation with. A hand grabbing her wrist stopped her after a few steps. She was spun around and came face-to-face with Draco, she was close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Are you angry with me Granger?" he taunted.

"Go and sober up Malfoy, come back and speak to me when you're not under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol."

"I love it when you talk dirty," he tried to wink at her but ended up blinking instead.

Hermione tried to pull her arm free from his grip but Draco pulled her closer. Before she had the chance to tell him to let her go, he leant further towards her and planted a wet kiss on her lips. It took her a split second to realize what was happening but as soon as she did, Hermione mustered all of her strength, planted her hands on his chest and pushed as hard as she could. He stumbled back and had just managed to steady himself when Hermione threw him off balance by raising her hand and for the second time in her life she slapped Draco Malfoy hard across the face.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again, Malfoy," she told him through gritted teeth before turning away once more and leaving the house.

As soon as she was outside, Hermione apparated back to her own doorway and entered her flat, slamming the door behind her. She was absolutely furious at Draco; alcohol or not he had completely crossed the line.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione very reluctantly got out of bed and dragged herself to work the following Monday morning. Having had the weekend to calm down, she was less angry with Draco now and more mortified about the kissing incident. She was dreading having to see him at the office and to make matters worse, Duggen had owled over the holiday to say he wanted to meet with the pair of them first thing to discuss their plans for the coming weeks.

She arrived early at the office in order to gather her notes and thoughts before the meeting and was surprised to find Lucy already there; the girl was notorious for arriving the minute her working day began and leaving the second it ended.

"Lucy! What are you doing here so early?"

"I knew you would be and I wanted a chance to talk to you before your meeting," Lucy replied, an apologetic expression on her usually happy face.

"Oh, okay. What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to clear the air between us, you left in a hurry after the party and I-"

"Clear the air?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yeah, you know, after the Draco thing? I honestly didn't lead him on, him flirting came out of nowhere! And I promise I don't even like him that way, I mean-yeah he's got a nice bum and he's not bad looking but-"

"Lucy. Stop," Hermione interrupted for Lucy was now turning a little res from lack of taking a breath. "I'm not mad at _you_, I'm mad at _him_ and not for flirting with you either. He can flirt with whoever he wants, why would that bother me?"

"Oh. Good," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Hang on then, why _are_ you mad at him?"

"Because he was a drunk idiot who thought it would be perfectly acceptable to kiss me and-"

"HE KISSED YOU?" Lucy yelled. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Will you keep it down?" Hermione hissed. "I haven't spoken to you since the party _to_ tell you! I heard him calling me a boring bookworm so decided to walk away before I hexed him. After he was done making a fool of himself with you, he followed me and grabbed me then he kissed me so I slapped him."

"Sorry. I'm still confused though, why did that make you mad? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Absolutely not!" Hermione said, appalled.

"But, I don't understand. I thought you liked him?"

"Hardly," Hermione scoffed. "I mean, yes I consider him a friend now which is a huge step up from our time at Hogwarts but I have absolutely no romantic feelings for him. At all. Not even a little bit."

"Hermione, judging by the amount you just protested I think you might be lying," Lucy smirked.

"Come on Lucy, why on earth would I lie to you?"

"Not to me, boss. To yourself," she winked.

"Don't be ridiculous. I really don't have feelings for Draco Malfoy and I really don't have time for this," Hermione busied herself gathering parchment from her desk and headed to the door, "I'm late for my meeting."

With that Hermione left the office, ignoring Lucy's giggles, and headed down the corridor to the meeting. As she was walking past the door that led to Draco's office it swung open and he stepped out, straight into Hermione.

"Sorry, I-" he began. "Oh, it's you."

"It's me," Hermione said curtly.

They stood awkwardly for a couple of moments before Draco broke the silence.

"Well, er-shall we go to the meeting instead of standing here?"

She nodded and they continued wordlessly down the corridor.

The meeting with Duggen was extremely uncomfortable, she and Draco avoided all eye contact and both spoke to Jarvis rather than each other. Hermione was distracted; much to her own frustration, she couldn't help but think of her earlier conversation with Lucy. Had she really given the impression that she felt that way towards Draco? It certainly wasn't intentional if he had. Was that why he kissed her? She assumed he had done it just to annoy her: now she wasn't so sure.

After what felt like hours, Jarvis dismissed the pair and Hermione couldn't leave the room quick enough, she was desperate to get away from the uncomfortable tension.

"Hermione?" a barely audible voice came from behind.

Hermione turned to see Draco closing the door to Jarvis' office. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak again.

"I just wanted to apologise for what happened at the party. I was so stupid, I drank too much and behaved like an idiot. I don't want things to be awkward between us so can we just forget about it? I know I'd like to, it wasn't my finest hour."

"You _were_ an idiot," she said simply.

"I was."

"_And _you insulted me."

"I did?" he asked, clearly unsure of what he had said.

"Yes. You called me boring and a bookworm," she said indignantly.

"I'm really sorry. Please forgive me?"

"Fine," she conceded after a minute of thinking. She still had to work with him every day and there was no need for it to be uncomfortable. "Consider it forgotten. I'm definitely going to have to start getting these apologies in writing though."

"Looks like they will have to wait," Draco rolled his eyes. "Seems we're going on another fun trip down memory lane. Wonder where we're off to now?"

Hermione braced herself, not phased by the bubbling in her stomach anymore, and prayed that the new memory would be a good one; lately they had been awful and caused Draco a lot of stress, creating unwanted tension between him and Hermione.

When the scene evolved, Hermione found herself standing in the potions classroom at Hogwarts. They had arrived in the middle of a lesson by the looks of things; fires underneath the cauldrons were burning and vapour was rising out of them. She looked around and saw Draco, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle as usual, but she could not see herself, an empty cauldron stood at her usual desk. A glance at the board told her they were making a Babbling Beverage and Hermione realised where she was. She had missed making this potion in second year due to being in a petrified state in the hospital wing.

"What memory is this?" she asked Draco.

"No idea," he replied. "Why aren't you here?"

"This is second year, remember? I was one of the ones who was petrified by the basilisk. I wonder if we'll get to see me, I always wondered what I looked like petrified..."

Draco rolled his eyes and laughed at her. They watched Snape walk slowly around the class, inspecting cauldrons and pulling faces that plainly expressed his dissatisfaction with the potions inside. He reached Draco's cauldron and smiled, prompting Draco to speak.

"Sir, why don't you apply for the Headmaster's job?" he said, loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

Draco cringed at his younger self. "Was I really that much of a kiss-arse?"

"Yes!" Hermione laughed, enjoying his embarrassment.

It seemed twelve year old Draco wasn't quite finished; he was now telling Snape that if needs be, he would tell his father that Snape was the best teacher at Hogwarts. Now even Hermione was cringing in between giggling at both Draco's.

"Oh dear, you really outdid yourself this time didn't you?" she teased.

"I'm not even going to disagree," Draco replied shaking his head in shame.

Hermione shushed him so she could listen to what Draco was now saying, wondering, and hoping a little, if he could possibly embarrass himself more.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now. Bet you five galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger..."

A scuffle broke out at his words but Hermione paid no attention to it; she did not see her two best friends defending her; she could not see past the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. It had been a long time since someone had called her a Mudblood and it stung every bit as much as the first time. What hurt more was that Draco had actually wished her _dead_. She knew they had a mutual hatred for each other in school but she never would have wished that upon him.

"Oh, god, Hermione. I am _so_ sorry. I don't even remember-" Draco began.

"You don't remember?!" Hermione said, her voice raised. "The most awful thing that _anyone_ has ever said about me in my entire life and you don't remember? Does wishing death on people come so naturally to you that it just slips your mind when you do it?"

"No, that's not what I-" he said hurriedly but Hermione would not let him finish.

"I guess it's not surprising, coming from a Death Eater."

Draco recoiled at her words. They stung but he knew she was saying them out of anger and tried his best not to rise to it.

"That's unfair Hermione, you know that's not what I am anymore," he said calmly.

"Unfair? _I'm _unfair?! No, Malfoy. Unfair is wishing death on a twelve year old girl who never did anything to you before you decided to hate her just because of her parents."

They were now in the corridor outside of Duggen's office door once again. Hermione, realising they were back, immediately turned away from Draco and stormed down the hall. Draco followed, jogging a little to keep up with her furious strides.

"Hermione, wait," he begged.

"Leave me alone," she hissed

"Hermione, please-"

"No, Malfoy! Please nothing! I can't believe I actually saw a human side to you after that last memory. How could I have been so stupid to forget _that_ is what you're really like?" she had stopped walking now and pointed back down the corridor to where they had left for the memory.

"That's not-"

"Don't you dare say that's not who you are anymore or that you've changed Malfoy. I don't believe it for a second. You say there's this big secret reason but you won't tell anyone, it's quite clear that there isn't one. Just leave me alone."

Hermione entered her office and slammed the door in Draco's face, locking it with her wand for good measure.

"Oh dear-" Lucy began in a teasing tone but was interrupt by Hermione.

"Just don't, Lucy. Don't, okay?"

"Sorry. Are you alright?"

"No."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really, did you send those owls for me?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

"Yep, all done. Are you sure you don't want to-"

"No."

**A/N The quotes "Sir, why don't you apply for the Headmaster's job?" and "I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now. Bet you five galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger..." belong to JKR, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 267.  
**  
**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a little shorter than the last few but that's because the memory wasn't particularly long. You might be glad to know the next chapter is a biggie, Draco's secret is about to be revealed in a big way! Please let me know your thoughts. **


	16. Chapter 16

It seemed that whatever friendship had formed between Hermione and Draco since he started working with her was now over. It was now almost two weeks after the last memory and Hermione was still furious with him. His twelve year old face haunted her dreams, taunting her; calling her a Mudblood over and over...

Every time she thought of the memory it hurt, the shock of what had been said did not lessen, it was just so hard to believe he had actually wanted her dead.

Draco had apologised so many times now that she had lost count, though admittedly less over the past few days. He had sent memos, flowers, passed messages through Lucy, posted parchment under her locked office door like a child, even sent owls over the weekend and Hermione had ignored every single one. They had become less frequent now and she hoped he was finally taking the hint. From now on their relationship would be strictly professional, they would speak when they had to, nothing more; nothing less.

She knew that another memory would be forcing her to see him soon and several times a day, every day, she thought she could feel the sensation in her stomach that meant one was coming: but it never did. She wondered if maybe they had stopped after the last one, maybe the lesson that they both needed to learn was that they simply couldn't and wouldn't ever be friends. Unfortunately for Hermione this was not the case, for late on Friday morning as she sat at her desk, the sensation came. She prayed that it was all in her head but a small part of her knew that it wasn't. She stood up and prepared herself for the unknown.

Her office disappeared and Hermione now found herself in a bustling street she did not recognise. It was warm but windy outside and the heat was that which never occurred in England. A look up and down the street confirmed that she was no longer in Britain; the streets were paved and the road cobbled; bars, restaurants and a few shops lined either side of the road and they were they type of inside-out shops one only saw on holiday; the owners stood outside trying to entice passers-by with whatever they were selling or serving and chatted amongst one another like old friends in a language Hermione recognised as Italian, confirming her suspicions as to her being in another country. A cafe stood across the road directly opposite Hermione, there were a dozen or so people sitting at wooden tables in wicker chairs outside under a canopy, waiters rushed around serving coffee and snacks and there at one of the tables, sat Draco, and he was not alone. A beautiful dark-haired girl with tanned skin and a dazzling white smile sat next to him, their heads pressed together in an intimate way. This reminded her that she probably wasn't alone in watching the new memory and she glanced around to see if Draco had arrived with her, though she had no intention of speaking to him.

Sure enough, he was there to her left hand side and behaving in a way that made Hermione speak to him in spite of herself.

"What on _earth_ are you doing?"

He was walking further down the street with his arms stretched out, reaching a certain point and then patting the air from in front of him, down to the ground and back up again, then moving back and doing it again in a different direction. He ignored her question and walked past her, repeating his actions to Hermione's right hand side, mumbling something she couldn't work out.

"Draco! I said what are you doing?"

He turned to face her, a furious expression on his face and tears in his eyes.

"I am _trying_ to leave. I can't stay here, Hermione. I can't. Please, help me find a way out of here, I'm begging you."

Hermione was perplexed. "Why?"

"I can't...just, please help me," his tone was desperate.

"You know we can't leave Draco. It doesn't work like that," she told him.

"It won't even let me walk away though, it's like we're trapped in a bubble. I need to get out Hermione, you don't understand."

He resumed his pacing and patting the air, curious as to what he meant about being in a bubble, Hermione stretched her hand out and felt around her. Eventually it came into contact with the same force that stopped Draco from leaving the room at Malfoy Manor. It seemed this was a memory they had to see. Assuming that Draco had no intention of telling her why he didn't want to stay, Hermione turned back to the cafe and watched; waiting to find out for herself.

It was unusual to see such a different side to Draco. He was happy and carefree as he sat side by side with the beautiful woman. He kept lifting her hand to his face and resting his cheek in it, kissing each finger before placing it back down. Strands of silky brown hair occasionally came loose and fell in the girl's face and he would quickly and very gently tuck it back behind her ear. Hermione felt as though she was intruding, watching such a private moment and yet she couldn't turn away, she wanted to know why Draco was so desperately furious and on the verge of tears upon their arrival to the memory.

Draco and the unknown woman looked as though they were in their own bubble, neither looked up to the busy street that surrounded them, it seemed there was nothing in the world more interesting than each other. Finally they came out of their private world and summoned a waiter who disappeared to the inner part of the cafe and quickly returned with their bill which Draco paid.

They vacated their seats, he slipped a light white jacket on and the girl wrapped a thin silk scarf loosely around her neck. They left the cafe and prepared to walk down the street, hand in hand. The wind was blowing a little stronger now and a particularly large gust blew, taking the woman's scarf with it. She tugged her hand away from Draco and chased the scarf out into the road.

Hermione knew what was about to happen before it did. It was a horrible moment in which time completely slowed down, she saw the woman run on to the road and she saw the car that came hurtling around the corner, she screamed though only one other person could hear her. Hermione's scream did not stop the car, neither did the one that came from the memory version of Draco on the opposite side of the road. Their screams did not stop the girl from running and they didn't stop the car from hitting her. She was hit with such force that she was thrown into the air and then fell to the ground with a smacking sound that Hermione feared would never leave her.

She could not tear her eyes away. Draco ran faster then Hermione thought possible but she knew it would never be quick enough to save her. He fell to his knees in the middle of the road and clutched the girl to his chest, sobbing and begging. A crowd had started to form, people were on their phones presumably calling an ambulance though Hermione knew it was too late. There would be no-one to save, just a body to take away. There were children crying and parents ushering them away from the scene. The driver of the car had gotten out and was pacing and visibly trembling whilst speaking rapidly in Italian to Draco, who ignored him; his eyes focused on the girl in his arms. She was motionless, crimson blood poured from her head and soaked Draco's shirt, it matted her previously glossy hair and ran on to the cobbled road beneath her. Her leg was twisted in an angle that looked unnatural and grotesque but still Draco held her. The pale pink scarf lay on the side of the road, forgotten.

Hermione finally convinced herself to look away and to find Draco, her eyes looked frantically to the left and right but only when she looked down did she see him. He was a mere ten yards away, on his knees with his head in his hands, sobbing as hard as the version of him they had been watching. Hermione had never seen another person look so pained and vulnerable and yet she did nothing, said nothing. There were an infinite number of combinations of words in the English language and none of them would make the man in front of her look or feel any better; he was helpless.

She took a step in his direction, still unsure of what to say but wanting to let him know that she was still here; that he was not alone. One more step would have taken her to Draco when he disappeared, along with the street, the shops, bars and restaurants and the man holding the lifeless body of his girlfriend in the middle of the road. Hermione was back in her office.

**A/N So, this is the beginning of Draco's big secret! What do we think? I'll have the next chapter to you very soon, I promise!**


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione raced into the hallway, ignoring the shouts of confusion and concern from Lucy. When she reached Draco's office she skidded to a stop and swung the door open. She found Draco sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.

"Draco?" she whispered.

He looked up but did not speak. Tears rolled down his paler than usual face, his eyes red and puffy. Hermione walked to his desk and took his hand, pulling him out of his seat.

"Come on, lets get out of here. We'll go for a drink, to talk?"

He took a deep breath, nodded and followed Hermione out of the room. They got the lift downstairs to the main entrance of Ministry, they used the fireplace to floo to the Muggle street above and walked to the cafe where Draco always bought his morning coffee, all in complete silence. Draco sat down and Hermione bought two cups of tea before joining him. She surveyed him as she sat down, his hair was ruffled from him running his hands through it and his eyes were still red and though the tears had stopped falling.

"Tell me about her Draco," Hermione whispered after several long moments of silence.

He had a sip of his tea, took a deep breath and began. "Her name was Evelina Carboni, I called her Lina and she hated it, or she said she did. After you-know-who died, as you know, Harry gave evidence about me and my mother helping him in the war by lying, we were excused for our crimes. My father wasn't though, he's still in Azkaban, I haven't spoken to him since. But I knew I'd been given a second chance at life and I didn't want to waste it, so I travelled. I went to different parts of Europe and met other witches and wizards, ones who didn't know who I was or what I'd done. It was amazing, I worked in restaurants and bars, earning just enough to get by but I was _happy_ I went to France, Germany, Greece and then...Italy. I met Lina whilst I was working in a wizarding bar, it was easy money and a good way to meet people. She came in one night with some friends and she stayed long after the bar closed just talking to me. After that we never looked back, I spent every spare second of my time with her. She was clever, funny and, well, you saw her, she was beautiful. I eventually told her about my past, I was petrified that she would leave me but I needed to be honest with her, I was desperately in love. She surprised me every day with how amazing she was and I was never more surprised than when she told me my past didn't matter. 'Ti amo' she told me: I love you. That day you just saw, that was about five months after we met, I was planning on proposing to her later that week, after I'd spoken to her dad to ask his permission. Instead, the next time I spoke to him was to tell him Lina was gone. I'd give anything to go back to that day, to not let her cross that road, to trade places with her..." he trailed off.

"Oh, god, Draco. I'm so sorry, I had no idea..." Hermione whispered.

"After that, I locked myself away. I didn't speak to anyone for months. Mother wrote me letters I didn't reply to, people knocked on my door and I didn't answer. I barely ate and I barely slept. Then one rare night of sleep, I dreamt of her. She told me that I was to stop moping around and go back home and face the world I'd left behind. She told me to make people realise that I wasn't the person I used to be, so I did."

"So taking the job, you did it because she told you to prove yourself?"

"Sort of. You see," he paused, "Lina was a Muggle-born, Hermione. And she was a spectacular witch, she made me realise how wrong I'd been all those years. She told me of the prejudices they have in Italy too, they have a term-'Sangue Sporco', it means filthy blood. That's when I knew that the discrimination against Muggle-born witches and wizards went beyond Britain. I couldn't bear the idea that Lina had suffered the same torments that I'd inflicted on others my whole life. When I came back here I read in the Daily Prophet about the work you had been doing so I came to see Duggen. You know the rest..."

"Wow. I don't know what to say...So that's the big reason then?" Hermione asked, finally connecting the dots.

"That's the reason. Now that you know, I need to tell you that I'm sorry, Hermione. I knew if I said this earlier you wouldn't believe me, but I hope you will now. I'm sorry for every time I called you a-well, you know. I was stupid back then. You know my past better than anyone now and I know it's no excuse but you've seen it's what I was raised to believe, that Purebloods were better. I know that's not true now and I'm truly sorry for ever believing it. I hope you can forgive me," he looked into her eyes, his expression sincere.

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly. "Thank you for saying that. I know it's the truth, of course I forgive you, Draco."

A comfortable silence came over the pair, both had been given a great deal to think about. Hermione couldn't believe what she had seen and heard in the last few hours. Though she and Draco had become friends of sorts lately, a part of her had still been wary and mistrusting of him working on a project that supported Muggle-borns. Now it all made perfect sense; he wanted to help Muggle-borns because he'd fallen in love with one, and now he'd lost her.

"You know," Draco said, finally breaking the silence, "it actually feels good to talk about it. I've never told anyone about her, not even my Mother, I was too scared of what she'd think. I was just planning on moving there permanently. It feels good to talk though, like a weight has been lifted. Thanks."

"Any time," Hermione said, and she meant it. "I'm glad we're talking again, though it's a shame it took something so awful to make it happen. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did after the last memory, if I'd have known..."

"Don't be ridiculous Hermione. You had every right to be angry. Twelve year old me was an arse."

Hermione laughed. "Yes, he absolutely was."

"I guess we should be getting back to work..."

"Actually, I've got the afternoon off. I'm meeting Juliette and Ginny for our final dress fittings. It's the wedding next week," she explained.

"Lucky you," he smirked.

"Come with me?" Hermione blurted out.

"What?"

"To the wedding. I mean, if you want to," she said quickly. "My invitation has a plus one and I feel a little pathetic turning up alone. It might cheer you up after all the horrible memories you've had to suffer lately..." she trailed off.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Ron and Juliette won't mind. Juliette likes you, you and Ron can stand to be in the same room after the whole charity Quidditch match, I think he might even like you now. Why not?"

"Okay then, I'd love to," he looked excited at her invitation.

"Great," she checked her watch. "I'm afraid I have to go and meet Juliette and Ginny now. Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, Hermione. Thank you for listening, and understanding."

The pair stood, exited the little cafe together and prepared to go their separate ways. Hermione said goodbye and, to her surprise, was pulled into a tight hug by Draco. She hesitated for a second before hugging him back.

"Well," Draco said pulling away, not meeting her eyes, "I'll see you Monday?"

"See you Monday," Hermione confirmed, a little flustered.

***  
The dress fitting with Juliette and Ginny went without a hitch. They had chosen strapless floor length gowns in a shade of dark red that complimented both girls well. Juliettes gown was simple but elegant; thin straps and a little crystal detailing at the top, both bridesmaids agreed she looked amazing.

By the time they had finished at the dress shop, it was late in the afternoon and the girls decided to stay out a little longer to have dinner. They found a quaint French restaurant nearby and after they had sat down and ordered drinks, Hermione decided to tell them about inviting Draco to the wedding.

"Juliette?" she asked tentatively. "You know my invitation to the wedding included a 'plus one' and I said I probably wouldn't be inviting anyone after the last disastrous date I had? Well, I've sort of invited someone now."

"That's great, Hermione!" Juliette exclaimed. "Anyone we know?"

"Well, yes actually, Draco-Draco Malfoy. The one Harry organised the Quidditch match with?"

"Oh, yes! Handsome blonde guy, he was at the Halloween party?"

"That's him," Hermione smiled.

"Hang on a second," Ginny interrupted, "am I hearing this right? You've invited Draco Malfoy to be your date?!"

"Yes. Well, not a date as such, he'll be accompanying me as a _friend_," she emphasised the word heavily.

"I can't keep up with you, Hermione. One minute he's your friend, the next you can't stand him, then you're kissing at parties," Ginny said.

"No, _he_ kissed _me_, it was certainly not returned."

"I don't see why not," Juliette said with a grin, "he's very good looking. And he obviously likes you if he kissed you."

"And I explained to you both, he apologised and said he was drunk."

"But he never said he regretted it though, just the circumstances," Ginny argued.

"And you didn't disagree about him being good looking," Juliette teased.

"Can you both stop it please. Draco and I are friends, that's all we'll ever be,"'she thought sadly of Draco and him loosing Evelina. "Yes, he is good looking, only a fool would think otherwise, but that does not mean that there is anything between us. Now let's order, I'm starving."

Juliette and Ginny eyed Hermione suspiciously but said no more on the subject. Hermione ate her meal in silence, pondering her friendship with Draco. Now Lucy, Ginny and Juliette had all made comments about it; was there more to it than she realised? It was clear from her earlier conversation with Draco that he was still mourning Lina. Then again, he had seemed excited when she invited him to the wedding _and_ hugged her in what felt like a more than a friend way...

She shook her head, inwardly chastising herself for letting the girls' taunts get to her. Of _course_ she and Draco were just friends. Weren't they?

**A/N So, this is Draco's big secret! I'd really love to know your thoughts, do you think it's a plausible reason for him changing his ways? Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

The day of Ron and Juliette's wedding had finally arrived and Hermione woke early, feeling excited. She and Juliette had both spent the night at Grimmauld place with Ginny, Harry had been sent to spend the night with Ron and James was now at The Burrow after spending his first night away from home. The three girls began to get ready after breakfast, Juliette forced to eat a little toast despite her nerves, though the wedding would not take place until the afternoon.

Ginny worked wonders with various potions and her wand, tying Juliette's hair into an elegant bun and creating soft waves into her own and Hermione's before pinning it all to one side. The charms she used ensured that not one single hair on the three heads would move for the entire day.

Soon all three girls were in their dresses and preparing to apparate to The Burrow where the wedding would be taking place in traditional Weasley style. The wards in place were less strict now that the war was over and familiar witches and wizards could apparate directly into the house rather than to the boundaries.

"We'll just nip ahead and check everything's running on time, which it no doubt will be if I know Molly Weasley," Hermione told Juliette.

She grabbed Ginny's wrist and they went together to Fred and George's old bedroom where Molly was waiting for them.

"Oh, girls," she gasped, "you look wonderful."

"Mum! Don't start crying already. At least wait til the ceremony!"

"Sorry, you're right. I just love weddings and I can't believe my little Ron is getting married..."

"Yeah, yeah," Ginny waved her hand impatiently. "We have to go back and get Juliette, is everything ready?"

"Yes," Molly replied, wiping her tears, "the tent is up, the officiator from the Ministry is here, guests are seated and Ron is waiting with Harry at the end of the aisle. I'll see you down there?"

"Great," Hermione smiled. "One more thing Mrs Weasley, is Draco here?"

"Yes, dear. He was one of the first to arrive, even helped set up the tent. What a difference five years makes!"

Hermione nodded in agreement ad Molly left the room to head out into the garden. Ginny did apparated and appeared again in moments accompanied by a now very nervous looking Juliette.

"Ready?" Ginny asked.

"As I'll ever be," Juliette replied with a smile.

The three girls headed down the stairs and through the kitchen to the back door, meeting Juliette's dad as they did so. The tent was attached to the door so that they didn't have to step outside where the weather was cold and bitter. Heating charms had been cast inside the tent and wood flooring laid out so they didn't have to step on wet grass and mud. The tent was in two parts, the first that led from the kitchen was plain and empty, it acted as a waiting room for Juliette, her father and her bridesmaids to stand and listen for their musical introduction. Ginny and Hermione heard their cue and pulled the curtains apart that led to the second and much bigger part of the tent. A hundred guests sat at either side of the long aisle on white chairs with red bows fastened around them, fairy lights danced above their heads and red rose flower arrangements stood at the end of each row. At the end of an aisle was a wide arch made of the same roses. Ron stood there, next to Harry, looking eagerly up the aisle at Hermione and his sister. The girls began their rhythmic walk towards him, both smiling widely. Hermione spotted Draco's bright blonde hair close to the front and he winked at her as she walked by him. She and Ginny stood opposite Ron and faced the entranceway they had just walked out of, waiting for the bride.

The curtain opened and Juliette stepped out with her father. Quiet gasps could be heard as the guests saw the bride for the first time, Hermione stole a glance at Ron whose face looked awestruck as he gazed at the woman who would soon become his wife.

The couple repeated the vows they had chosen in turn after the Ministry official and as they kissed for the first time as husband and wife there was barely a dry eye in the house. Hermione silently thanked Ginny for tear-proofing their make-up once it was applied.

After posing for countless photographs, Hermione was finally able to seek out Draco as the tent was rearranged for everyone to sit down to a meal.

"Hello!" she gushed. "I'm so sorry I haven't spoken to you yet, bridesmaid duties beckoned. I'm glad you came."

"Me too, you look beautiful, Hermione."

She blushed. "Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself. I see the Muggle suit has made an appearance again."

"It's a different one but yes, I told you, they're more comfortable."

"They suit you," Hermione told him.

He thanked her and they walked to the table they had been assigned to according to the seating plan. Draco pulled Hermione's chair out for her to sit in and then sat next to her. The food appeared almost instantly and they enjoyed a delicious three course meal that rivalled even Molly's cooking.

After eating, the tent was rearranged again for the final time. A dance floor now took up most of the room and a band had set up on a stage in the corner. Draco stood and offered his hand to Hermione; an invitation to dance which she accepted.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Hermione asked as he took one of her hands in his and slid the other around her waist.

"I am, thank you. Are you?"

She nodded.

"Is it not strange, watching Weasley get married? He is your ex-boyfriend after all."

Hermione took no time in replying. "Not at all. Ron and I were meant to be friends, nothing more. Juliette is perfect for him, look at how happy they are."

Draco followed her line of sight and looked at the newlywed couple a few feet away, they were holding each other closely and dancing whilst sharing a laugh. They looked as though they were the only people in the room. Hermione squeezed his hand and he looked back at her questioningly.

"It's happening again," she told him.

Seconds later, he understood what she meant and found himself dreading what was about to happen next. To his relief, the setting for the latest memory was not one he recognised. They were in a spacious living room, a comfortable looking charcoal grey corner sofa taking up much of the space, an oak coffee table in front of it and a huge fireplace opposite. In one corner of the room was the biggest bookshelf Draco had ever seen and it was packed with books of all sizes. Draco would have immediately known who's home this was had she not been sitting on the sofa.

Memory Hermione looked exactly as she did in the present day, the memory they were about to watch couldn't have been very long ago. She was not alone on the sofa, sitting at the other end was a man Draco did not recognise. He was tall and fairly thin, had mousy brown hair and no real distinguishable features.

"Oh, no," Hermione mumbled. "Oh, I know what memory this is..."

"Which one?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione had either not heard him or was ignoring him. "Oh, Merlin's pants. Why this one? Why today?"

"Hermione, what is it?" Draco asked, a little louder this time.

"You're about to find out," she replied miserably, watching herself set down the book she had been reading.

"Tim?" Memory Hermione said tentatively.

"Hmm?" the man, presumably Tim, replied, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Can I ask you something?"

He put the paper down on the table and turned to face her.

"You love me, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do!"

"And, you want our relationship to move forward, don't you?"  
she was looking at her hands, which were clenched in her lap.

"Yes..." Tim's expression was curious now.

"Good. Because I do too, I'd like us to live together."

"What-Really?"

"Yes, if you'd like to?"

"Of course I would!" he leaned over and hugged her, grinning.

"There's just one thing...I have something I need to tell you first. Something you didn't know about me."

"Okay..." it was Tim's turn to look nervous now.

"Well, the thing is, I'm not a solicitor. I do work in law, sort of but not the way you think," she took a deep breath. "I work in magical law, Tim. I'm a witch, I can do magic."

Tim laughed. "You're mad. Come on, what did you really want to tell me?"

"I'm telling the truth," Hermione insisted but Tim laughed again.

She reached into her handbag which was at her feet and pulled out her wand.

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you," she took a deep breath and pointed her wand at the newspaper he had just been reading. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The newspaper flew into the air as Hermione guided it around the room with her wand. Tim's jaw dropped as he followed it around the room and watched it land back on the table. Another flick of her wand and the newspaper turned into a book and then back again.

"What...how did you...?" Tim stammered, still looking at his newspaper.

"Magic. I told you, I'm a witch. I went to magic school when I was eleven and learned how to do it, now I work with wizards and other witches in magical law."

"You're a...a freak!" Tim stood from his seat.

"No," Hermione said, looking hurt, "I'm not. I'm still the same person, just I can do magic."

"And you waited a year to tell me this?!" his voice was raised now.

"Well I couldn't tell you straight away could I? I had to be sure that-"

"That what?! That you could trust me even though your were lying?"

"I wasn't lying, I just-" Hermione tried to explain.

"Didn't tell me that you were a freak with a magic wand? You belong in a zoo, with all the other freaks like you! Wonder how much I'd get paid for telling the world that we're living amongst weirdos?"

Hermione looked taken aback, she had obviously expected a better reaction.

"Tim, please, you're just in shock," she reached a hand out and held his arm.

"Don't give me that. You've lied to me for a year and you think I'll just get over it? I'm not staying here and living with you and your hocus pocus. Goodbye, Hermione," he pulled his arm away with such force that Hermione was knocked backwards and stormed out of the flat slamming the door behind him.

Hermione sank to her knees, heavy sobs making it difficult for her to breathe. She shuffled to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder which was hidden in an ornamental pot next to the marble hearth. She threw it clumsily into the fire and watched as the flames turned green.

"Harry!" she half-yelled, half-sobbed before standing up and standing up shakily.

Harry appeared quickly and looked alarmed at the sight of Hermione; red-eyed with tears streaming down her face.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. "What is it? What's happened?"

"Tim. He's gone, left me. He's going to tell people I'm a witch, Harry you have to stop him!"

"What?! You told him?!" Hermione nodded, a fresh wave of tears forming. "Right, just calm down, I can fix it. I'll go to work now and sort it. Stay here, okay?"

Harry took some floo powder from the still open pot and stepped back into the fireplace, shouting his destination; the Ministry of Magic. Hermione sank into the sofa and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them seeking comfort that did not come.

A gobsmacked Draco turned to face Hermione, who was watching herself with an overwhelming sense of sadness. "Hermione, I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?"

"What good would it have done, talking about it? It happened and there's nothing I can do about it."

"It made me feel better, when I told you about Lina. You could have told me then."

Hermione shook her head but said no more. Draco continued to watch her intensely, usually such a strong and composed young woman, she looked so vulnerable now. She wasn't crying but her face bore an expression of sadness he had never seen before. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until the look on her gave changed. It was an unsettling feeling.

It was over an hour before Harry appeared in Hermione's fireplace again. He stepped out and sat down next to Hermione, awkwardly placing a hand on her back in an attempt to make her feel better.

"We found him," he said quietly. "He was back at his flat and already had a journalist there. The Obliviators took the journalist to a coffee shop nearby and modified both of their memories. They made Tim think that he had broken up with you because of you working too much and made him forget your address and phone number too. You won't hear from him again. I'm so sorry Hermione, I know you loved him."

Hermione said nothing as the new information sunk in.

"Listen, I'd love to stay but we've got Arthur and Molly coming for dinner. Are you going to be okay on your own? I can cancel if you need me to be here?"

"Don't be silly, Harry. I'll be fine," even as she said it her voice broke slightly, "go have your dinner, I'll owl you tomorrow."

Harry looked at her sceptically before hugging her and saying his goodbyes. As soon as he was no longer visible in the fireplace, Hermione let out a deep sigh and curled up into a ball on her sofa. She was not alone for long, however; half an hour later green flames appeared once more.

"Harry, I told you, I'm-Lucy? What are you doing here?" Hermione said, sitting up from the foetal position she had been in since Harry had left.

"Harry's head appeared in my fire a few minutes ago, he told me what had happened and that he was worried about leaving you alone. I'm so sorry Hermione..."

She crossed the room and bent down to give Hermione a tight hug before sitting down next to her. She reached into her large pink handbag and pulled out a bottle of wine.

"I might not be any good at relationship advice, what with my destiny to be an eternal spinster, but I can definitely help you drown your sorrows."

Hermione gave a small chuckle and summoned two wine glasses, she filled them up and handed one to Lucy. Both girls took large drinks then set their glasses down on the coffee table in front of them. Hermione explained fully what had happened with Tim; Harry only gave her a brief outline in his rushed conversation. Each time their glasses were almost empty, Hermione would wave her wand and refill them with a non-verbal spell. Not being much of a drinker, it soon began to take an effect and her tears soon began to flow again.

"What's wrong with me Lucy?" Hermione said abruptly, wiping the new batch of tears away.

"Wrong? With you? Nothing. Nothing at all Hermione. You're beautiful, intelligent, independent and not to mention you pretty much saved the wizarding world. Men are the problem, not you."

"Then why did this happen? Why don't I get to be happy?"

"I can't explain it Hermione. All I can say is if Tim did this to you then he's not worth your tears and he's obviously not the one you're meant to be with."

"_Meant_ to be with? I don't think I'm _meant_ to be with anyone Lucy. I feel like I just don't belong..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I got together with Ron and it didn't work out and then all of this has happened with Tim. I couldn't get a relationship with a Wizard to work and couldn't get one with a Muggle to work. Tim has left me because I can do magic and yet I was taunted at school for having Muggle parents. It's like I don't fit in either world. Too magic to be a Muggle and too Muggle to be a witch."

Draco tried to ignore the pang of guilt at Hermione's words; focusing on Lucy's reply instead.

"Now you're being ridiculous," Lucy scolded. "You're a brilliant witch and a brilliant person. Look at everything you've done in just a few years at the Ministry; changed the laws for house elves and now you're starting to change things for muggle-borns. Any man would be daft not to want you. As much as i joke about being a spinster, I really do think there's someone out there for everyone, you just haven't found him yet."

"He doesn't exist Lucy, trust me," she lay her head on the back of the sofa cushion as the tears continued to flow silently down her face.

A few minutes later, Hermione's eyelids had closed and soft snores could be heard coming from her. Lucy summoned a blanket from the bedroom and gently placed it over her before apparating out of the flat.

The room disappeared and Hermione and Draco were on the dance floor once again. He gestured wordlessly to one of the empty tables around the edge of the room and the two made their way over and sat down.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I will be. It's not easy watching memories like that, is it?"

"Welcome to my world," Draco laughed humourlessly.

"I suppose it was about time I watched a bad one. I've gotten off pretty lightly so far since they began, haven't I?"

"You're telling me. I'm sorry you had to go through that though-everything with Tim and then reliving it."

"It's okay. It wasn't particularly nice but it was months ago, I know now that Tim wasn't a very nice person. As it turned out, Harry and Ron didn't really like him anyway, they just didn't tell me because they thought I was happy. I wish they had though, I spent a year of my life with him."

"For what it's worth, I agree with Lucy. There is someone out there for you, Hermione. Being a spinster is definitely not your destiny," he laughed.

"Maybe not," Hermione conceded, "I think I'll let fate decide that, just like fate is deciding when these rotten memories will stop."

"Maybe they're linked," Draco grinned. "We've both had such an awful time with relationships in the past, it might be fate telling us to be spinsters together."

His grin faded slightly as he considered his own words. He had intended them as a joke but now wondered if that had been the intention all along. He looked at the young woman in front of him who was staring back with a puzzled expression. He had never even wanted to think about being with another person after Lina and now he was doubting himself. The longer he looked at Hermione, the more intensely she stared back at him. Every cell in his body other than the ones that made up his broken heart was urging him to lean forward and kiss her though his life depended on him but his heart would not allow it; it did not want to be broken again.

"Hermione!" Juliette's voice pulled both Draco and Hermione out of their thoughts. "The porkey is about to leave!"

Hermione quickly stood out of her seat and rushed over to the beautiful bride and her new husband, who was looking red in the face from the exuberant dancing he had been doing. The portkey would be taking them to an all-wizarding island off the coast of Spain for their honeymoon. Her eyes were on the couple as they held on to the old tin can together but her thoughts were back at the table and the man that had wondered if their destiny was to be together.

**A/N** **Super long chapter, I know! I'm sad to say there are only 3 more memories to go for Draco and Hermione, I know there have been a lot of 'almost' moments between them but the next chapter will see a big leap in their relationship! Hope you liked this one :)**


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione was relieved to have the day off following the wedding. Though Ron and Juliette had left for their honeymoon the party hadn't stopped and it was the early hours of the morning by the time the guests had gone home and Hermione's bridesmaid duties ended. It was almost noon when Hermione woke up and much later in the day when she finally showered and dressed.

Early evening saw an unexpected visit from Lucy, who was eager to hear about the wedding. Hermione gave her all of the small details, including her unwanted visit to the day she and Tim split up.

"I was there?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"In the flesh," Hermione replied.

"Bizarre…"

Hermione laughed. "Maybe for you, unfortunately Draco and I are fairly used to them now."

"You know, that has an excellent ring to it 'Draco and I', how are things between you two? Still denying you like him?" she teased.

"Oh, stop. I've told you nothing will ever happen between us, he's obviously still grieving for Evelina," Hermione had told Lucy of that particular memory when she had returned to work the Monday after she had seen it.

"But if he wasn't?" Lucy prompted.

"That's irrelevant. He is and that's that."

"Humor me," she said, "if Draco was ready to move on, would you be the one he moved on with?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied honestly. "Sometimes, I think…maybe."

She proceeded to tell Lucy about the passing comment Draco had made after they returned from the latest memory. He had looked at her so intensely after saying it, though he wanted to say more; _do_ more. She was convinced that he was about to kiss her in that moment and had thought a thousand times about what she would have done if he had closed the small gap between them. She was still undecided.

"I knew it!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Calm down. Anyway, I told you, it's irrelevant. Evelina died so suddenly and he was obviously madly in love with her. I can't imagine he'll be wanting to move on any time soon and frankly, I don't blame him. Now, can we please change the subject?"

Lucy looked as though she had a lot more to say but knew that Hermione's words were final and so began to update her on the latest gossip she had heard from her friend in the Goblin Liason department at the Ministry. Hermione half-listened and made non-committal nods in what she assumed were the right places but once again, her thoughts were on Draco Malfoy.

Lucy left around an hour later, after trying and failing to convince Hermione to go out with her that night, she was meeting with Seamus and Dean amongst other friends but Hermione was simply too tired. Her sofa, a mug of tea and a good book was far more tempting.

It seemed that her quiet night in would have to wait however, as Hermione realized, with a groan, that another memory beckoned. She placed her book and her cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of her and stood up, waiting for the room to change.

Draco was already waiting for her when the memory formed, his expression one of a mixture of fear and worry. There was already a lot of noise upon Hermione's arrival and she knew immediately what they were about to see.

She, Ron and Harry were standing in the middle of the large room, Harry's face was swollen to the point of being unrecognizable to anyone who did not know him well, Ron's red hair was long and filthy and dark stubble lined his chin, Hermione was looking gaunt, her clothes loose fitting and muddy. They were surrounded by Death Eaters, some bore expressions of glee, some of fear and, in the case of Fenrir Greyback, of hunger. This was a memory that had haunted Hermione for many months after the war, one that she tried very hard to forget and one that she did not want to see. This was the night she was tortured at Malfoy Manor.

"No…" she whispered. "Please, no…"

She wanted to run away or to apparate back to her book and her quiet night but she knew that any effort to do either would be pointless. She had watched Draco try to do it countless times and told him that it wasn't possible.

Narcissa Malfoy was now excitedly telling the group that she recognised Hermione from Madam Malkin's robe store and from the Daily Prophet, she sought her son's confirmation but he was unenthusiastic in his response. Her husband joined her, he breathlessly told the group that if that was Hermione then the redhead must be Ron and the other boy _had_ to be Harry.

Hermione knew what was coming next, Bellatrix Lestrange spotted the sword of Gryffindor and soon red curses were flying around the room. One flew past her and Draco; came within inches of his head and he jumped out of the way even though it would have never affected him. They watched as Bellatrix continued her fit of rage, expressing to the group that they would be in danger if Voldemort came at that moment and decided that she needed to find out how the group had the sword before summoning their Master. As Harry and Ron were dragged away to the dungeons, Ron screaming the whole way, Hermione knew that she was about to see herself suffer the worst pain she had ever experienced. She turned away, unable to watch, and was pulled into Draco's arms, where she buried her head in his chest.

He stroked the back of her hair as the first scream came and held Hermione tighter when she jumped. It didn't help that she couldn't see herself writhing on the floor, she could still hear it.

"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? _Where?_" Bellatrix's mad voice screeched.

"We found it-we found it-PLEASE!" Hermione's screams echoed around the room.

She was sobbing into Draco's chest now and he held her tighter still. He was shaking with fury at his Aunt, watching this scene the first time had made him feel horrendous and he had disliked Hermione at the time. Now that they were, for want of a better word, _friends_, it was a million times worse. He wanted to protect both versions of Hermione and knew it wasn't possible, even holding her in his arms wasn't helping.

The screams continued for what felt like an eternity until, finally, Ron's voice bursting into the room, yelling, broke them. It was the last thing Draco heard before he felt Hermione disappear from his grip, he opened his eyes which had been screwed shut and was back in his own kitchen. He stood on the spot for a split second before running out of his front door and beyond the wards that protected him. He apparated on the spot to the house in which Harry lived and knocked on the door repeatedly until Harry opened it.

"What the-?" Harry began.

"Potter, thank Merlin. Hermione-where does she live?"

"Why? Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. I need to talk to her about work stuff, very important" Draco lied, knowing any other answer would lead to more questions.

Harry summoned a piece of parchment and quill and wrote down the address for Draco, who glanced at if before disapparating without another word, leaving a bewildered Harry standing alone at his front door.

Alone in the safety of her own living room, Hermione sank into the sofa and put her head in her hands. Tears were still falling no matter how hard she willed them to stop. She tried to tell herself that the memory happened over five years ago, that Bellatrix was gone and could not harm her any more but it made no difference.

A loud banging on her front door made her jump. It was followed by shouting.

"Hermione! Hermione, it's Draco, open up, please!"

She slowly got to her feet and crossed the room. When she pulled the door open, Draco was stood with a panicked expression and his fist raised though he had been about to knock on the door again.

"Hermione..." he whispered before pulling her into his arms.

She buried her head in his chest and found comfort, his familiar smell and his strong arms made her feel safe once more. The relief brought on a new wave of tears and Hermione inwardly cursed herself, where was her Gryffindor bravery now? She had cried more in the last few months since the beginning of the memories than ever before and it frustrated her.

Draco, mistaking Hermione's tears of relief for sadness and fear from the memory, gently pushed Hermione away from his chest and put his hands on either side of his face. She looked to the floor, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"It's okay, Hermione, she's gone, she can't hurt you again. I promise."

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she looked up in surprise, teary brown eyes met grey for a second before her face was pulled closer to hers and their lips pressed together in a kiss neither had expected but both responded to with passion. Hermione's hands were on Draco's chest, she grabbed handfuls of his shirt to pull him closer to her, he moved one of his to the back of her neck and another to the small of her back. She stepped backwards out of the doorway and further into her flat, pulling him with her and he kicked the door closed behind him.

He pulled his mouth away from hers and began trailing kisses along her jaw and neck, Hermione gasped trying to catch a breath that had been left in the doorway. Her mind raced with more thoughts than she could organise. How had they gotten here and where was the kiss, the breathtaking kiss, going? She knew she didn't want it to end; she had never been more sure of anything in her life. When Draco's lips found hers once more Hermione decided, for once in her life, that she would not over think what was happening; she would just let it happen.

Her hands moved down and sought the bottom of his shirt, she grabbed it and pulled upwards, Draco breaking the kiss whilst she tugged it over his head and dropped it at their feet. She ran her hands over his skin, reveling in how warm and soft it was; she wanted to touch every inch of it. Mimicking her actions, Draco now moved his hands down and pulled her top over her head in a move so swift Hermione didn't notice until her top joined his on the floor. He resumed his kissing of her neck and worked his way towards her ear, nipping it gently before whispering to her.

"Bedroom?" he looked at her now, waiting for her response.

She nodded her head in the direction of a door behind him and to the right hand side. He kissed her again and picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, she squealed in surprise and laughed nervously as he carried her to her bedroom where he set her down at the foot of her bed. He ran his hands gently down her bare arms and looked at her intensely.

"Are you sure...?" he mumbled.

Hermione thought about his question. Was she sure about her and Draco? The possibility of them being more than friends had crossed her mind countless times lately and now that it was happening she had never been more sure it was what they both needed.

"Yes," she whispered, with absolute certainty.

The atmosphere in the room became more charged and if Hermione thought Draco's kisses had been passionate before, they were nothing compared to how he was kissing her now; it was urgent; though his life depended on it. He pressed his body so closely against hers that not even a millimetre of space separated them and yet it was not close enough. He pulled his body away momentarily, without breaking the kiss, and his fingers found the top of her jeans where they unfastened the button and lowered the zip. Understanding his intentions, Hermione tugged at the sides and pushed them down her legs before stepping out of them. Draco pushed her shoulders gently so that she was sitting down, she reached up and unfastened his belt and zip so that he too could rid himself of his jeans.

He pushed her backwards so that she was on her bed and as she moved up it to lay her head on the pillows he positioned himself above her, bearing his weight on his forearms either side of her face. He looked into her eyes and a silent mutual understanding passed between them; they both needed what was about to happen and they both found the comfort they craved that night.

**A/N So there you have it, nineteen chapters later and we finally have some action! As always, your thoughts are appreaciated! **


	20. Chapter 20

The winter morning sun blazed through the window, the curtains still wide open from the day before having been forgotten about the previous night. A glance at the alarm clock on the whitewash bedside table in front of her told Hermione that the sun had woken up earlier than she usually would, but she smiled into her soft pillow thinking it allowed her time to make breakfast for herself and Draco. She rolled over feeling blissfully peaceful, keen to spend a few moments pressed up against his pale torso before getting up, only to be greeted with empty space in her bed.

"Draco?" she called out but no reply came.

She climbed out of bed and wrapped herself in the dressing gown Draco had given her many weeks ago then headed to the main living area of her flat. She walked past the bathroom as she went; the door was wide open and the room unoccupied. She found the same emptiness in her kitchen and living room. A sense of worry began to pool in the pit of her stomach; where was Draco?

Her stomach growled in a hungry protest and Hermione headed over to the kitchen, intent on starting to make breakfast. As the smell of toast began to fill the air, she wondered if Draco had headed home to pick up fresh clothes for work and considered making breakfast for him too. The toast popped up and she turned to get a plate from the cupboard behind her when she spotted a piece of parchment bearing her name on the bench top.

_Hermione,_

_Left early, didn't want to wake you. See you at work,_

_Draco._

Hermione read the note several times, perplexed. Each time she read the few sentences, it made less time than the first. Why had he left early? Why wasn't he coming back? To her, the previous night was wonderful; she and Draco had been a perfect fit. Every confused feeling she'd had about him lately had become clear. She knew then that they really did care for one another, not just because they had slept together but just the way he had held her, throughout the memory and after it. Now she was more confused than ever.

No longer feeling hungry, Hermione abandoned the toast and decided to shower and dress instead; she wanted to get to the Ministry sooner rather than later so she could get some answers from Draco. In her haste, she arrived so early that she was the only member of her department, and possibly several others, in the building. She took a seat at her desk and began shuffling through the paperwork that lay waiting for her, though her thoughts were still on Draco so little information filtered through.

The minutes dragged by and Hermione was beginning to feel restless when Jarvis Duggen's booming voice came from outside of her door and made her jump.

"Ah! Draco, just the man I was looking for. I need to speak to you and Hermione for a moment, join me in her office?"

Hermione did not hear Draco's response, she quickly sat up a little in her seat and smoothed her blouse down before picking up the parchment on her desk once again to look as though she had not heard the conversation he had just been eavesdropping on. Duggen's huge frame entered the room followed by Draco's smaller one. The latter was looking at the floor, was he avoiding eye contact with Hermione?

"Hermione, do you have a moment?" Duggen asked.

"Absolutely," Hermione replied with a false smile.

"Excellent. I just wanted to let you know I received an owl over the weekend from a Norwegian Ministry worker, they've finally agreed to allow Muggle-borns at Durmstrang. Their department are undecided as to what to do with the school that currently teaches them but are keen to meet with you both to discuss options. Great work you two!" he beamed.

"Really?" exclaimed Hermione, momentarily forgetting her problems with Draco. "That's amazing!"

"Excellent," said Draco a little unenthusiastically.

His tone went un-noticed by Duggen, who continued to smile widely at the pair. "You should be very pleased with yourselves, I have to admit, I was a little sceptical when you told me your plan for Durmstrang, Hermione, but you pulled it off. Both of you. Keep it up!" he shuffled out of the room, whistling happily.

Draco, still not looking at Hermione, turned to follow their boss out of the room but Hermione quickly shut the door with a wave of her wand.

"Draco?" he turned to face her but still his eyes were locked on the floor. "Is something wrong? It's just, with you leaving this morning…I thought, well, I don't know what I thought but it just seemed like you left in a bit of a hurry…" she trailed off, suddenly not feeling so confident about confronting him.

"Nothing wrong, just have a lot of work to do, that's all. We'll talk later, yeah?" he exited the office, bumping into Lucy as he went and not apologising.

"Don't mind me!" Lucy called after him as he walked to his own office. "Did someone wee in his Pixie Pops this morning?" she asked Hermione as she dumped her handbag carelessly on her desk.

"I wouldn't know…" Hermione mumbled, stopping herself from telling Lucy that he didn't stay for breakfast.

"You're grumpy too," Lucy observed. "What's going on? Please tell me that you two aren't arguing again or I swear to Potter I'll quit."

"Please don't use that expression Lucy, as one of Harry's best friends I can tell you that he absolutely does not like it. He's not some sort of God you know."

"Sorry. Stop changing the subject anyway, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Lucy asked again.

"No, because I am absolutely fine. Anyway, we've got work to do. Jarvis has just been in to tell us that Durmstrang have finally agreed to change their rules about Muggle-borns. We need to do some brainstorming about their other school and what to do with it now so get thinking."

Lucy nodded, pulled a piece of parchment and purple feather quill towards her and began writing silently. Hermione was relieved that she did not continue with her inquisition but caught her several times throughout the day eying her suspiciously.

She did not see Draco for the remainder of the day, choosing to avoid him and wait until he approached her to enlighten Hermione on his odd behaviour but by the time five o'clock came she had had enough of waiting. She grabbed her bag and marched to his office, preparing to drag him out for dinner and an explanation only to find he had already gone home. Sighing, she walked back down the corridor toward the lift where Lucy was waiting too.

"Ready to talk yet?" Lucy asked.

"Fine," Hermione conceded. "Dinner?"

"Sounds great," Lucy smiled.

They flooed to Hermione's flat and Lucy sat on the bench top whilst Hermione busied herself making dinner, in the Muggle way as always. Whilst she waited for the pasta to cook she leaned against the cupboard and waited for Lucy to begin her questioning: it didn't take long.

"So, you and the bu-"

"Don't say it! Call him Draco, please," Hermione pleaded. Now that she and Draco had been intimate she couldn't bear to hear Lucy refer to him that way.

"Fine, you and _Draco_, what's going on?"

"Isleptwithhim," Hermione mumbled rapidly.

"Bless you," Lucy teased. "Say again?"

"I…slept with him. Last night."

"WHAT?!" Lucy jumped down from the bench and stared open-mouthed at Hermione.

"You heard, and now he-" Hermione began but was interrupted.

"Woah, woah, woah. First things first. Is his bum as nice naked as it is in trousers?"

"Lucy!" Hermione scolded. "Can we focus on the bigger picture please? As I was saying, he left before I woke up this morning and what you could barely call a note and then wouldn't even look at me today when Jarvis told us about Durmstrang. I tried to talk to him after that and he said we'd speak later but he never did, he went home early."

"Well that makes no sense, he's obviously crazy about you," Lucy said simply. "And he didn't go home, I heard him telling Duggen that he was going to the Hog's Head tonight."

"Avoiding me probably, he's obviously not 'crazy about me' as you put it," Hermione replied.

She drained the pasta and stirred some sauce into it before dividing it into two bowls. They took them to the dining table and continued their conversation. Hermione explained the full events of the previous day; the memory and what happened after.

"I thought he liked me Lucy," she finished.

"He does! I'm just as confused as you are. Try talking to him again tomorrow, if he tries to run away just jinx him!"

"I'm not going to jinx him!" Hermione smiled a little at the thought. "Maybe I should just accept that last night was a one-time thing for him, nothing more. I mean, how could I possibly expect more from him knowing about Evelina? He's obviously still in love with her and honestly, who can blame him? She died so suddenly he hasn't had a chance to get over her."

"I get what you're saying Hermione but I still think he's crazy about you, Evelina or no Evelina. Tell me, how do you feel about him, honestly?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I mean, I've probably felt just about every feeling towards him. I loathed him in school and then he left for so long I just felt indifferent about him. When he came to work at the ministry I was so angry and then we started seeing all of those memories and became friends, it was so confusing. Lately, thanks to you, Ginny and Juliette putting ideas into my head, I've started to feel more for him and then after that memory of Evelina I saw a whole new side to him, one that I could really get used to. I thought I was getting to know that side much more after last night and then the way he's been today I'm back to being angry."

"That _is_ a lot of feelings. I think you care about him more than you'd like to admit though, and I think he feels the same way."

Hermione shook her head but said no more. She didn't want to talk or even think about Draco any more, the whole situation was too confusing. It had taken her long enough to come to terms with the idea of being friends with Draco and now they had crossed that line and stepped into the unknown. Hermione hated being unsure of things, usually turning to books for the answers. She was almost certain there wasn't a book on how to deal with mixed signals from Draco Malfoy.

Lucy stayed a little longer and Hermione was a little relieved when she left; she wanted a hot bubble bath and an early night. She cleaned and put away their dinner dishes with a few waves of her wand before going to the bathroom and filling her bath up with warm soapy water. She lay there for what could have been hours, letting her mind run and seeing Draco's face more times than she would have liked.

She dressed in her pyjamas when she finally got out of the bath and cast a warming charm on them to protect herself from the cold that had seeped in from outside, switching her heating on as she turned the lights out on her way to bed. Since she was a young girl, Hermione always found an early night curled up in bed with a good book could fix anything and she was hoping her current situation wouldn't be an exception to that rule. As she shuffled under the duvet however, a stirring sensation in her stomach told her that her new book would have to wait.

Not having had time to get herself out of bed before her bedroom disappeared, Hermione found herself sitting on the floor of a dark room. She groaned as she remembered she was in her pyjamas, dreading the teasing that she would suffer from Draco before remembering they didn't seem to be on talking terms.

She stood up and dusted herself off then looked around to take in her surroundings. She immediately recognised the room as the bar of the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. It was dimly lit by short candles that were sporadically placed in holders on the wall and a filthy chandelier that was off-center on the ceiling. The bar was as filthy as the rag that was independently cleaning it and the guests even more so. One guest stood out like a sore thumb though, and Hermione had known to look for him, for this was not her memory. His bright blonde hair shone brighter than any of the candles and Hermione turned to make the same joke to him. That was when she noticed he wasn't there with her. She walked over to the Draco sitting alone at a booth and stood in front of him, wondering if he was the Draco she should be watching the memory with. He did not look up upon her arrival so she waved a hand in front of his face, still gaining no reaction. She walked away from him and had a quick look around the bar, still not seeing Draco. She was starting to wonder if Draco had somehow managed to stop himself from coming in a desperate attempt to avoid her when she was distracted by the door opening and another familiar face entering the bar.

Lucy stormed in, an expression of determination on her face that Hermione had never seen before, and quickly scanned the bar before her gaze fell on Draco. She walked over to the booth and sat down opposite him without even stopping to order a drink. Hermione approached the table once more in curiosity.

"Lucy?" Draco gaped at the blonde girl sitting across from him. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. I heard you telling Jarvis earlier that you'd be here."

"Why are you looking for me?"

"To knock some sense into you, you idiot," Lucy hissed at him. "I just came from Hermione's, I know what happened between you two."

Draco's face fell. He looked down into his glass which was filled with a honey-coloured liquid Lucy recognised as the Hog's Head's own brand of mead.

"Well?" she prompted.

"Well what?" he snapped back.

"Why are you avoiding Hermione? Don't you dare think you can just sleep with her and pretend it never happened, I know you like her more than that."

"I'm not pretending anything. I just won't let it happen again," his voice was solemn.

"Why in the name of Merlin not? You like her, don't you?" she demanded.

"Yes, but-"

"Yes but nothing! I won't let you treat her this way, she deserves better. I thought you _were_ better."

"Listen, it's not that simple. You don't know the half of it…"

Lucy's face softened. "I do know, Draco. I know about you two at school and the memories and-"she paused, "and I know about Evelina."

Draco's head snapped up and he finally looked at Lucy. "What?"

"Don't be mad at Hermione, I can be pretty relentless when I know she's hiding something from me. I practically hexed it out of her. She hasn't told anyone else, not even Harry and Ron."

Draco said nothing.

"Please, just explain to me what the problem is. Or at least tell Hermione, doesn't she have the right to know why you're being an arse?" she pleaded.

"Of course she does. I just can't explain it to her…"

"Then tell me," Lucy prompted.

Hermione held her breath as she waited for Draco to speak again. His silence seemed as though it would never end and Hermione wasn't sure she wanted it to, was she ready to hear why she wasn't good enough for him; why he didn't want her like she wanted him?

"I'm scared," Draco finally replied, giving the answer neither Hermione nor Lucy had expected.

Lucy gaped at him. "_You're_ scared? _Th_e Draco Malfoy is scared?"

"Don't take the piss," he snapped. "Yes, I'm scared. I'm scared that if I admit how I feel and give into it that one day she'll wake up and remember who I am. Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater and total prick. If those bloody memories have taught me anything it's that I'm just kidding myself, I haven't changed at all, I'm just trying to convince myself and everyone else that I have, including Hermione. I've proven that today."

"Have you gone mad? Unless you're still going around calling everyone Mudblood and taking orders from a power-mad bloke with no nose then you've definitely changed."

The corners of Draco's mouth twitched a little at the casual way Lucy spoke about Voldemort. "That's not what I meant. I'm still the same coward I always was, the first sign of anything developing between me and Hermione and what did I do? I ran. Just like when Lina…I hid away for weeks after that day, trying to run from my problems. Hermione is better off without me. It's better for the both of us that she realises what a coward I am now rather than months down the line when she wakes up one day and remembers."

"Oh for goodness sake, Draco. She likes you, a lot. How can you not see that? Hermione isn't the sort of person who would just jump into bed with someone without having feelings for them, surely you know that?"

"I do, but it doesn't change anything. Even if she does want a relationship with me, despite who I used to be-who I am, what if something happens to her?" his voice was barely above a whisper now.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, perplexed.

"Like with Lina. I couldn't go through that again…"

"Draco, what happened with Evelina was a terrible accident. If you and Hermione were together that doesn't mean something like that would happen to her. It wasn't your fault." She reached out and lay her hand on top of his in a comforting gesture.

"It terrifies me though, I couldn't lose someone I love all over again."

Hermione gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth. Had Draco really just said that he loved her? Surely she had misheard. She took a step closer, not wanting to miss the next part of the conversation.

"Wait," Lucy looked at him, shocked, "did you say 'love'? You love Hermione?"

"No," Draco said hastily, "that's not what I-"

"Yes it is! Draco, you love her! And unless I'm very much mistaken, she feels the same way. So why are you still sitting here? You need to tell her!"

"I'll be doing nothing of the sort. Look, Lucy, I appreciate you coming here and talking to me but this is something I have to figure out alone."

Lucy took this as a huge hint for her to leave and so she rose from her seat and headed back out of the door, giving Draco a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as she passed. Hermione stood for a few more moments staring at the man who remained seated, looking intensely at the glass between his hands. He soon disappeared, along with the dirty bar and Hermione was standing in the comfort of her own bedroom once more.


	21. Chapter 21

Hermione stood at the foot of her bed, trying to process the conversation she had heard between Draco and Lucy. 'Love' he had said, he didn't want to lose someone he _loved_ again. True, he had denied it when Lucy asked but he had _said_ it, Hermione was sure. He had also said that he was scared and that's why he left in a rush and spent the day avoiding her; it wasn't that he didn't want to be with her. Still, she thought, that didn't make things any simpler.

She climbed back into her bed and picked up her book from the bedside table. She read and re-read the first sentence countless times but it just wouldn't go in; the words made no sense. All she could think about was Draco, if he felt that way about her then iwhy/i couldn't they be together? She felt as though she should march over to the Hog's Head and ask him that herself. As soon as the thought popped into her head, Hermione decided that was exactly what she was going to do. She climbed out of bed once again and crossed the room to her wardrobe. After swapping her cotton pyjama bottoms and vest top for a pair of jeans and a thick knitted grey jumper, she headed to the fireplace in the living room, determination coursing through her.

She had just grabbed herself a handful of the acid green floo powder when a loud banging on her door made her jump. She walked to the over to answer it, disgruntled at the interruption. When she opened the door, she found the last person she expected to standing there.

"Draco? I was just coming to find you."

"I saw your conversation with Lucy," he spluttered, "the one here, about me."

"What?"

"A memory, I went on my own. It was here, you told Lucy what had happened between us and you said it was just a one-night thing for me-"

"Wait," Hermione interrupted, "you went to a memory alone too?"

"Too?"

"Yes," she explained, "I saw Lucy talking to you in the Hog's Head; she must have gone there after she left here."

"You heard…?"

"Everything, yes. And honestly, Draco, I'm more confused than ever. I understand why you're scared, after what you've been through, who wouldn't be? But I'm not going to change my mind about you, I _know_ that you're different and, more importantly, I know why."

"Exactly, you know about Evelina. You said to Lucy that you thought I was still in love with her and I think you might be right, I think a part of me always will be, it doesn't change my feelings for you, Hermione, but it should change yours for me," he said sadly.

"I don't understand…"

"How could you be with me knowing that I might never get over her?"

"Draco, we all have pasts, even me. Yes, yours may be more awful than mine but you can't let that stop you from being happy," she looked into his eyes trying to read his expression.

He didn't speak but continued to look back at Hermione, processing her words. Her face changed, though she had been struck by an idea.

She spoke again. "Come in, sit down."

He followed her inside and closed the door behind him, she took his hand and sat him down on the large charcoal grey sofa that took up most of the space in the living room.

"Wait here," she told him.

"Where are you-?" he began, but she was already heading out of the flat.

"I'll be back soon!" she called back to him.

As Draco sat completely confused on her sofa, Hermione raced to the outside of her flat beyond the wards that protected it and apparated. Her destination appeared before her; she climbed the stone steps and knocked on the black door that bore the number twelve. Moments later, the familiar face of her best friend answered the door.

"Hermione! It's late, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine Harry. I need a favour please. You remember Roger Harker who worked in your department for a while? He works in the Department of International Co-operation now, I've had to liaise with him quite a bit lately on my project and I really need to speak to him. Is there any chance you know where he lives?"

"Er, yes actually. Ginny and I had dinner with him and his wife; I think Ginny has the address written down somewhere. Do you want to come in for a drink whilst I find it?"

"No thanks, I'm in a bit of a hurry," Hermione was rocking on the balls of her feet as she spoke.

"Are you sure everything is okay? Surely this could wait until work tomorrow?" Harry asked sceptically.

"It's fine, I just really need to speak with him."

"You know I had a very similar visit from Malfoy last night, he turned up on my doorstep unannounced asking for your address, said it was a work thing. You would tell me if something was going on wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Hermione lied. "I just really need that address."

Harry nodded and disappeared for several moments before coming back with a piece of parchment that had an address written on it that Hermione recognised as central London, not far from the ministry. She thanked Harry and skipped down the steps before apparating to the address in her hand. She found herself in front of a block of modern looking flats and pressed the number on the intercom that corresponded with the one Harry had given her. A man's voice answered.

"Hi Roger, it's Hermione Granger, from work. Can you come down a moment, I need a favour."

Minutes later the main door into the building opened and Roger stepped out. He was a tall man who had not one hair on his head but a thick black beard covered his chin, he greeted Hermione with a warm smile but with confusion in his eyes.

"Hermione, what's going on?" he asked.

"Remember when I first started working with international schools and I had to meet with that awful witch from France, Jarvis wanted you to meet with him and you begged me to get him to get someone else and so I met with her alone instead? You said you owed me one."

"Yes…?"

"Well I need that one now."

* * *

It was almost an hour later when Hermione finally returned to her flat, and Draco, who was now very irritable.

"Where on earth have you been?" he demanded.

"Out. I needed to go and see someone, to get this," she held up another piece of parchment, this time with a different address.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"You'll see," she replied simply.

She reached out a hand and he took it, leading him out of the flat and to outside of the building.

"We're going to apparate; I'm not telling you where so we'll have to do slide along."

"Okay…"

She closed her eyes and focussed entirely on the address she now had memorised. After a few seconds of the uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed through a tube, Hermione felt her feet on the ground and she opened her eyes. She was facing a huge pair of open iron gates, it was dark out but they could both make out that the words at the top read _Cimitero_.

"Cemetery…" Draco whispered. "Hermione, how…?

"I know a man in International Co-operation who owed me a favour. They have a record of every witch and wizard there ever was in every country. He went to the ministry, told security he'd left some important paperwork behind that he needed so he could find out where Evelina was buried after she died. You said you locked yourself away afterwards, meaning you didn't go to her funeral. You didn't get to say goodbye, Draco. I'm giving you the chance to."

Draco gazed at Hermione in shock and amazement. "This is…I can't believe you would do that for me. But I don't think I can go in there."

"You can, and if you need me to, I'll come with you," she told him sincerely.

He took a deep breath and nodded. Hermione took his hand once again and led him beyond the gates. Countless headstones could be seen in every direction and Hermione knew it would be difficult for them to find Evelina's grave.

They walked slowly through the many rows, still hand in hand, though Hermione was holding onto Draco for her own comfort now rather than his. It was dark and the trees were casting odd shadows on their path, Hermione didn't like cemeteries during the day never mind at night. She was looking over her shoulder trying to locate the source of a noise that had made her jump a little when Draco spoke.

"There," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione whipped her head around and looked in the direction he was pointing. A white headstone marked Evelina's grave, bearing her name and a message in Italian that Hermione did not understand. Draco stood at the foot of the grave and stared at the ground at his feet. Hermione slipped her hand out of his and placed it at the small of his back. He pulled out his wand and waved it, making one single white calla lily appear on the grass.

"They were her favourite," he explained to Hermione without looking at her, "but she never wanted a bunch of them, just one. I used to give her one lily every week on a Saturday to mark each week we'd known each other."

A tear escaped Hermione's eye and she let it fall, not wanting to wipe it away in case Draco saw.

"You should say something," she told him quietly.

"I don't know what to say. I'd feel stupid anyway," he dismissed.

"It's not stupid. You need to try and get some closure, Draco."

"You're right," he said and sighed. "I just want her to know I'm sorry. I should have been there, at her funeral. I just couldn't face it, going to her funeral meant she was really gone. I didn't even know this was where she was buried; I didn't even bother to find out. She would be furious with me. I never told her this, but her temper scared me. She was a typical fiery Italian," he laughed. "Thank you for bringing me here, Hermione, I didn't realise it until this moment but I needed it. I'm ready to go now."

Hermione nodded and he took her hand before turning to face Evelina's grave once more. "Goodbye, Lina. Sleep tight."

They walked out of the cemetery in silence and waited until they were beyond the iron gates once more to apparate back to Hermione's flat and then return to her living room. She made them both a mug of tea and they sat in comfortable silence on the sofa.

Draco drained the remainder of his tea, took Hermione's cup and set them both down on the coffee table before taking her hand.

"Thank you," he said.

"What for?"

"For everything you did for me tonight. The trouble you went through to find where Lina was, taking me there and staying with me. That can't have been easy for you."

"It wasn't," Hermione said truthfully, "but you needed it. How do you feel?"

"Better than I've felt in a long time," then he added, "with the exception of last night."

Hermione laughed and he continued. "Seriously though, I'm sorry for leaving, and I'm sorry for ignoring you today. You know why I did it but that's no excuse, you didn't deserve it. You are an amazing person Hermione Granger, even more so than I thought."

There were a few more moments of silence, Hermione waited for him to speak again, sensing that he had more to say. When he said no more, she finally broke the silence.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked, unsure of the answer.

He stood up and pulled Hermione to her feet, tucked his finger under her chin and tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes.

"Bed, if you'll still have me?"

She closed the gap between them and kissed him deeply, giving him his answer.


	22. Chapter 22

When Hermione woke the next morning, a huge sense of relief washed over her when she saw that this time, Draco was still there. He was fast asleep, his features relaxed and his hair sticking up in a style completely different to the usual slicked back one. He had the blanket pulled up to his chest, protecting his pale naked torso from the cold beyond it, one arm was resting on the pillow above his head and the other lay across his stomach. Hermione shuffled herself closer to him, trying hard not to wake him but it seemed he was a light sleeper for as soon as she moved an inch his eyes fluttered open.

"Morning," he mumbled, "time is it?"

"Just gone seven," Hermione replied glancing at the clock over his shoulder.

"Mmm, too early," he grumbled and closed his eyes again.

She chuckled. "Too early for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" he asked, opening his eyes for the second time and rolling over to face her.

"Yes, you know, most important meal of the day? I have bacon and eggs and-"

"Bacon and eggs? Then why are you still in bed?"

He began nudging Hermione closer to the edge of the bed in a playful way and she giggled as she took his not-so-subtle hints and climbed out of bed pulling her dressing gown on which was still on the floor from the night before.

"Alright, calm down, I'm going," she told him as he leant over the bed and continued pushing her. This side of him was refreshing, she had never seen him so relaxed and, dare she say, happy?

She headed into the kitchen and began making their breakfast and coffee and knew when the smell must have drifted to her bedroom for Draco came out, wearing only his jeans and a blissful expression on his face. When he reached the kitchen, he walked straight to Hermione who was flipping the eggs and wrapped both of his hands around her waist.

"Smells good," he mumbled into her neck, "and the breakfast doesn't smell too bad either."

She laughed. "What has gotten into you today? Do you know I only liked you because you were grumpy and a closed book, now you're all happy and I'm not sure I'm so keen anymore."

Draco pulled away looking hurt.

"I'm joking Draco!" she exclaimed. "I have been known to make jokes you know."

"I just can't win with you Granger," he grinned.

"Be quiet and eat your breakfast," she scolded as she handed him a plate full of food and a cup of coffee with no milk and one sugar, as she knew he liked it. He thanked her and they sat down at the table together.

"What will we do about work today?" Hermione asked him half way through breakfast.

"Well, I'd imagine the same thing we've been doing for months though hopefully you won't throw an ink pot at me now I know you find me irresistible."

"Very funny. Though I don't think I ever used the word irresistible. I mean about going, will we arrive together or separately? Are we telling people that we're…what are we?"

"Calm down, Hermione. Do you always overthink everything? I need to go home to change anyway, so I'll probably get there after you. As for what we are, I'm not entirely sure. I know that I don't want last night to be a one night, well…two night thing. I care about you, a lot."

She smiled. "Me too. And yes, I do overthink everything, I'm a logical person. So does this mean we're…together?"

"I think it does, yes." He set down his cutlery. "Well, that was a very serious conversation to have over breakfast."

Hermione laughed and took the dishes into the kitchen. She cleaned them with a wave of her wand and put them away before returning to Draco in the living room. In her absence, he had put on his shirt and shoes and was standing by the fire.

"I should be going, need to shower and change before work otherwise people will get suspicious." He winked. "Can I use your fire?"

She nodded and handed him the pot containing the floo powder. He kissed her gently before disappearing amongst the green flames. She headed to her bathroom to get ready for work, smiling the entire time.

When she arrived at her office an hour later, she was shocked to see Lucy already there, bouncing up and down in her chair.

"Hermione! Thank Potter you're here," she gushed. "Listen, I did something really stupid last night after I left yours, I-"

"Went to the Hog's Head and told Draco that you know everything, called him an idiot and said you were going to knock some sense into him?"

"Well, er, yes. How do you know?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Just call me Trelawney," Hermione grinned.

"Tre-Did you just make a _joke_? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! And yes, why is it that me making jokes is so shocking to everyone this morning? First Draco, now you-"

"_Draco?_" Lucy asked, one eyebrow raised. "He's not in yet, how have you…OH MY MERLIN YOU SPENT THE NIGHT WITH HIM AGAIN?!"

Hermione shushed her and glanced nervously into the corridor beyond the door behind her which was still open. She closed it and took a seat at her own desk before answering Lucy's question.

"Yes, Draco spent the night."

"But…what…_how?" _

Hermione explained to Lucy everything that happened the previous night after she left; the memory at the bar (Lucy apologised profusely at that part), Draco having seen their conversation and the cemetery.

"Wow…" Lucy gaped. "Just…wow. You took him to her grave? Has anyone ever told you you're an amazing person?"

"I'm really not, and he wouldn't have even come over if it weren't for you, I just gave him what he needed."

"I bet you did," Lucy winked.

"You're so crude!" Hermione scolded, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Come on then, how was it?"

Hermione could tell Lucy had been dying to ask since she found out Draco had spent the night but was thankfully saved by the office door opening and Draco entering the room.

"Speak of the Devil," Lucy mumbled stifling a laugh behind her hand.

"Morning ladies," Draco said. "Hermione I've just bumped into Jarvis in the hallway, said he wants us in his office five minutes ago."

Hermione followed Draco out of the office, ignoring Lucy wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she passed, and headed to her boss' room, wondering what was so important that he needed to see them so urgently.

"What do you think this is about?" Draco asked as they stood outside the door bearing Jarvis' name.

"No idea, unless Durmstrang have pulled out…Oh, you don't think they have, do you?"

"No way, you wore them down too well," he told her and squeezed her hand reassuringly before letting go and knocking three times on the door.

"Come in!" Duggen's voice boomed from inside.

When Draco opened the door, he and Hermione were greeted by not one, but two faces. The man next to Jarvis was tiny even sitting down, the tip of his head barely reached Duggen's shoulder, he was wearing his trademark purple robes and an annoying smile on his face that suggested he knew something nobody else did.

"Draco, Hermione, take a seat. You remember Ernie Portree?"

"How could we forget?" Draco said with a forced smile as he and Hermione sat down in the two seats opposite.

"Oh, Mister Malfoy," Ernie said happily, "there's no need to be like that. I have good news for you!"

"Were your toes eaten by Grindylows because that would be good news," Draco said bitterly.

"Draco!" Hermione and Jarvis reprimanded in unison.

"What? Hermione, this is the man who is responsible for all of those damned memories. Tim, Bellatrix, Evelina! Not to mention the ones from school."

"Mister Malfoy, if I may speak?" Ernie asked, still smiling annoyingly.

Draco nodded curtly, his arms folded across his chest and a frosty look in his eyes.

"I understand that you and the lovely Miss Granger have had a tough few months after your trip through the doorway downstairs. Obviously I'm not permitted to explain in great detail about how it works but I can tell you that the doorway chose memories that were only ever meant to strengthen your relationship, ultimately making things a little easier for poor Jarvis here. From what I understand you two were about as far from friends as possible when you started working together?"

Hermione and Draco both glanced at each other wearing identical guilty expressions.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ernie continued. "And now, unless my source is very much mistaken, things are very different now?"

"Your source?" Hermione asked, wondering who on earth knew about her and Draco that would tell the unusual man sitting opposite her.

"The doorway, my dear. More details I cannot explain unfortunately. Which leads me to the good news, now that your relationship has gone through such a drastic change, I believe you have seen all that you needed to."

Draco straightened himself up in his seat. "The memories are stopping? We don't have to see any more?"

"That is correct."

Both Hermione and Draco let out long sighs of relief and he smiled for the first time since stepping into the office. Jarvis was also smiling.

"So does that mean no more fighting? Sometimes I've felt more like a parent than a boss with these two, Ern. If they weren't so damn good at their jobs I would have sent them packing."

"I should think they will be seeing eye-to-eye more often now, Jarvis," he replied, standing to leave. When he reached the door he turned back, "though if I were you I'd make sure their new romance doesn't distract them from their work now."

And with that, he left leaving Jarvis spluttering. "Romance? Don't tell me you two are…?"

Hermione blushed and looked down at her shoes, Draco chuckled at her.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, I only wanted you to get along well enough to work together. Romance indeed, I'm going to hex that Portree next time I see him. Out of my office, the pair of you, before I change my mind about sacking you."

He propped his elbows on his desk and put his head in his hands, mumbling something about 'damned Unspeakables' as Hermione and Draco left the office laughing.

* * *

Three days later, Draco stood in front of Hermione, his face flustered, wearing a pair of jeans and a white shirt with the buttons done up wrong. She laughed at him, making him even more frustrated.

"Will you please stop laughing and actually help me Granger?" he snapped.

"Oh, Granger again is it?" she flashed him a smirk that she only knew how to do from watching him.

"I'm sorry, help me please?"

She stepped forward and unfastened the muddled-up buttons and fastened them again, leaving the top two open. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him before turning to her wardrobe and picking out the blue dress she had picked out to wear that night. They had been invited to dinner at Ron and Juliette's along with Harry and Ginny. Hermione had asked if she could bring a date but hadn't told them who it was, causing Draco to panic. He had expressed his concerns that Harry and Ron would hex him straight to a bed in St. Mungos, even though Hermione insisted that they liked him now. He countered her argument, asking why she hadn't just sent them an owl telling them but she wanted to tell them face-to-face.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't just have sent a letter," he grumbled again as they stood in front of the front door, about to leave.

"Draco, we've been over this. I can't just write them a letter to say 'by the way I'm dating Draco Malfoy', they're my best friends, I need to tell them properly. Anyway, stop trying to stall, they'll be absolutely fine with it. The three of you have been getting on perfectly well since that Quidditch match, you said so yourself."

"They might not be so nice when they find out we're together."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," she said, pulling him out of the front door.

They apparated and landed on the stone steps outside of Harry and Ginny's house, Hermione squeezed Draco's hand reassuringly and knocked on the door; it was Harry who answered.

"Hermione, come-" he paused when he saw who was standing with her and his eyes travelled to their joined hands. "Malfoy?!

"Hi, Potter," Draco mumbled.

"Er, hi. Come in…"

He stared blankly at the couple on his doorstep before turning away and leading them to the kitchen. He stopped once he reached the doorway and spoke again. "Um, Hermione's here…with Malfoy."

He stepped into the room , Hermione and Draco took his place in the doorway. Draco looked at the floor and Hermione glanced nervously at Ron, Ginny and Juliette. Ron was staring back open mouthed, the two girls were beaming. There were a few seconds in which no-one spoke

"Finally!" Juliette and Ginny said exasperatedly, breaking the silence.

"You _knew_?" Ron stared incredulously at his wife and sister.

"Of course," Juliette told him. "Hermione brought him to our wedding as her date, did that not give it away?"

"You said it was just as friends. Why didn't you tell me?" he pouted.

"Actually, we were just friends at that point," Hermione said.

"Yes, but you weren't _really _though," Ginny replied.

"I suppose not." Hermione grinned.

"What…I…Women!" Ron shook his head while the rest of the group laughed.

"Never mind mate," Harry said patting him on the shoulder, "I'm sure you'll understand them one day."

"Let me know if you ever figure it out," Draco said, speaking for the first time since entering the house.

"And me, actually," Harry added. "Hey, Malfoy, have you seen the prototype they've released for the new Nimbus? They reckon they've finally designed one to top the last Firebolt, I doubt it though."

"You're joking? Nothing will top the Firebolt Gold!"

"That's what I told him," Ron said, forgetting about his frustration with women.

"That's what they said in this month's Quidditch and Brooms. I'll show you, c'mon."

He left the kitchen and headed into the living room, Ron and Draco behind him still discussing brooms animatedly. The three women remained in the kitchen, Ginny serving up lamb chops whilst Juliette poured Hermione a glass of wine. The men soon returned and the six sat down to dinner.

"I have to say, Hermione," Harry said half way through eating, "I never thought I'd see the day we'd sit down to eat with Draco Malfoy, your boyfriend."

"You're telling me," she replied.

"And me," Draco added.

"How did it happen anyway? You've not told us the full story," Juliette enquired excitedly.

Hermione and Draco both looked at each other, similar expressions of apprehension on their faces.

"Do you want to explain, or shall I?" he asked her.

"Well, it all started when Draco got the job in my department…"

**A/N So there you have it, the final chapter! It isn't over _just _yet. I'm working on an epilogue which should be up soon :) I've started writing a sort of side-story to this one, it focusses on Draco and Evelina's relationship. It's called Mio Amore and you can find it on my author page. Obviously if you've read this far into the story you'll know how their story ends but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway!**


	23. Epilogue

The weather was unseasonably warm for April, not the humid warmth Britain had felt the previous summer but still it felt more like summer than spring. The sun shone brightly in the large garden of Mayfeather Cottage, much to the delight of the many guests that were currently in it.

Fifty or so seats were arranged in rows either side of the garden, a walkway down the middle separated them, dressed in bright white chair covers with yellow bows fastened at the back. A man with black messy hair and a red-headed friend were greeting smartly-dressed new arrivals to the garden and leading them to the seats. Those already in position were chatting animatedly, occasionally looking behind them.

Soon the seats were filled and the redheaded man took a seat near the front and the other walked into the cottage that stood at the top of it. He quickly reappeared with a man dressed in coat and tails and the pair walked down the pathway between the chairs and stood at the bottom of them.

Hermione watched out of her bedroom window at the guests below and felt a surge of nerves as she watched the two men take their positions in front of the guests.

"Get away from that window!" a voice snapped. "He could see you!"

Hermione pulled the blind closed and turned to face the woman who had just entered the room. "Sorry Ginny, I just wanted to check he hadn't changed his mind."

"Hermione, don't be stupid, it doesn't suit you," she said grinning. "Of course he hasn't changed his mind, I think he's been more excited about today than you! Now come on, let's get your dress on.

Hermione nodded, feeling reassured. She walked to the huge oak wardrobe that held both hers and Draco's clothes and unzipped a white bag that was hanging from the top and went all the way down to the floor. She pulled out the dress that was inside and handed it to Ginny before removing the bath robe she was wearing. Ginny carefully lifted it over Hermione's head and raised arms and pulled it down, then turned her around and pulled up the zip at the back.

"Okay, turn around and let me see," Ginny said taking a step back.

Hermione turned and watched her friend's face for a reaction. She gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth, tears threatening to form in her eyes.

"What? Is something wrong?" Hermione asked, panic in her voice.

"No, Hermione. You look beautiful. Here," she said as she removed the black cloth she had deliberately placed over the huge full length mirror in the room.

Hermione stepped in front of it and stared at the unfamiliar woman in the mirror. Her hair was no longer wild and curly but smooth and shiny, elegant waves fell softly around her shoulders and half of it was pinned back in what she knew to be a silver and blue crystal clip, her something blue from her mother. The dress she wore was ivory and strapless; fitted to her waist and then flared slightly where it fell to the floor with just a touch of lace on the small train. It was simple and yet completely perfect.

There was a gentle knock on the door which pulled Hermione's thoughts away from the woman in the mirror whom she was positive could not be her.

A voice from outside the room in the hallway spoke. "Is it okay to come in now?"

"Even if it's not we're coming in anyway, I'm dying out here!" another said a little louder.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, you can come in. Calm down Lucy!"

The door burst open and Juliette and Lucy entered, wearing the same dresses as Ginny. They were strapless like Hermione's, pale yellow and went to just below their knees with an ivory band around the middle.

"Oh, Hermione," the two women said in unison.

"Do I look alright?" she asked nervously.

"Beautiful," Juliette replied.

"Not as good as me, but you'll do," Lucy teased, earning her a glare from Ginny. "I'm _kidding_! You look perfect Hermione. Are you ready to go?"

Hermione opened her mouth but could not seem to find her voice, so simply nodded.

"Excellent. Draco is already waiting for you, Harry is there to keep him calm but he's not even a little nervous by the looks of things. I'll just go and get your dad and the kids from Molly so she can sit down and then we can get you married!"

Juliette left the room and returned a few minutes later, four children being herded into the room in front of her. There was James, now four, and his almost three year old brother Albus; both looking adorable in matching suits. They were accompanied by Ron and Juliette's twin two year old girls, Aylis and Nadia, both of whom had fortunately inherited Juliette's slightly darker shade of red hair and were wearing ivory flower girl dresses. Ron, having already helped to seat the guests, had now been landed with the job of looking after the two latest additions to the ever-growing Weasley family: two month old Lily, Ginny and Harry's daughter, and his third baby girl, Jayde.

Hermione's dad, who had arrived from Australia with her mum the day before, followed Juliette into the room and beamed as soon as he saw his daughter. He crossed the room wordlessly and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You look wonderful darling," he said when he finally let her go.

"Thanks Dad," she replied, smiling back at him.

"You ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be."

The group left Hermione and Draco's bedroom and descended the stairs. A screen had been erected in front of the back door that shielded Hermione from the guests as Ginny walked down the aisle with the boys and they were followed by Juliette and the twins. Hermione heard the music give her cue and she linked her arm with her dad.

The walk down the aisle felt like much longer than it had at the previous day's rehearsal. She could see Draco standing at the bottom next to Harry and when he turned to face her, his smile was every bit as wide as her own. She finally reached him and, after a quick kiss on her cheek from her father, she faced the man she was about to marry.

As the only Muggle guests at the wedding were Hermione's parents, they had decided to have a Ministry Official perform their ceremony. The man seemed to be as old as time itself and was so small he could barely be seen by the guests, despite standing on an overturned box, but his wise and beautiful words about love and marriage could be heard by all and soon it was time for the most important part.

"Do you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, take Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes and said, with absolute clarity, "I do."

"And do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take Draco Lucius Malfoy to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she told him with certainty.

"Then, as an official of the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Mr Malfoy."

Draco placed a hand in the small of Hermione's back and another on the side of her face; he pulled her close and kissed her in a gentle but passionate way, she was only vaguely aware of the applauding and cheering coming from their guests. All too soon he pulled away.

"I love you, Mrs. Malfoy," he told her sincerely.

"I love you too."

A flash from the photographer's camera distracted the newlyweds, reminding them that they weren't the only two people in the garden. They turned to face him and posed for their second picture as husband and wife.

* * *

One year later, Hermione was looking through one of her albums and paused as she reached the picture of herself and Draco posing at the top of the aisle on their wedding day. She smiled fondly at the memory as the couple waved happily up at her.

"What are you grinning at?" Draco asked as he joined her sitting on the sofa in their living room.

"Our wedding photos, it feels like just yesterday doesn't it? I wish we could go back and do it all over again…"

"I'm not sure time travel is safe in your condition." He took the photo album from her hands to reveal a large bump in her stomach. He placed two hands on it and sighed contentedly. "We need to keep Draco Junior safe in there you know."

"I am not naming our child Draco Junior," Hermione scolded playfully. "Besides, it could be a girl in there. Anyway, I was just reminiscing, that's all." She took back the photo album and flipped the pages until she was back to ones of their wedding.

"Let's keep it that way," he teased, "I think we've had enough trips down Memory Lane to last a lifetime, don't you?"

Hermione couldn't agree more.

**A/N So, that's it. It's all over! This story has been like my baby for the last four months and I can't believe it's finished so soon. The amazing reviews each and every one of you have left me has been the biggest motivation to continue writing this story and so this chapter is dedicated to you, especially those who took the time to review every single chapter, I can't stress enough how happy that made me. Aylis, Nadia and Jayde, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your names to give to Ron and Juliette's children, it's my way of thanking the three of you for the many hours spent talking about all things Potter and your support and kind words about this story that never failed to amaze me. If you've read the story to this point, thank you so much. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and as ****_always_**** I would love to know what you thought of, not just this final chapter, but the whole thing. **

**Until the next story…**

**Dee xx**


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